CABLE & Wireless has again extended its deadline for Thus shareholders to accept its 180p-a-share offer, as the rate of acceptances slows.
London-based C&W revealed that, by 1pm on Tuesday, it owned or had acceptances from the owners of 78.5 per cent of the stock. The remainder now have until 9 September to accept the offer. On 13 August, C&W said it had acceptances representing 72.1 pe
r cent of shares.
While the group has said it wants acceptances from 100 per cent of shareholders, it will be able to force outstanding shareholders to sell if it owns or has acceptances for 90 per cent of the stock.
C&W urged remaining shareholders to accept the deal "as soon as possible but in any event … no later than 1pm on 9 September".
Typically the City Takeover Panel requires deals to be done within 60 days of the launch of the offer. However, the timetable has been suspended, pending the outcome of a review by the Office of Fair Trading into whether the deal will reduce competition. Should the OFT clear the deal to go ahead without an investigation, C&W would have a further 21 days to complete the deal.
Thus has a large retail investor base, a legacy of its origins as a spinout from ScottishPower, with a share register of more than 300,000.
C&W's cash offer valued Thus at about £329 million.
The full article contains 248 words and appears in The Scotsman newspaper.
