Originally Posted by
alibaba
TwoDeadDogs.
You need more than 51% under company law I think? Just because you get to that amount doesn't mean you can do what you want. Flying Lawyer probably knows a bit about it?
I can't remember the % but it is a heck of an amount higher than that. I think the MAN UTD Glazer's thing was closer to the nineties mark before total control was gained? I'm just guessing though to be honest.
I'm not sure of the exact figure, but under british company law you need about 90% of the shares for your takeover to become
unconditional, i.e. you can acquire the outstanding shares at the offer price, whether the remaining shareholders like it or not.
51% of the shares gives you 51% of the shareholders votes at AGM's, EGM's etc. It doesn't necessarily give you control over the company - life's not that simple.
Originally Posted by captainpaddy
Here's an idea............
Buy 200 million euro worth of shares.
Make announcment that you are attempting to buy out Aer Lingus.
Sit back and watch share price go through the roof.
Sell shares tomorrow morning and make a handsome 50 million overnight!
If only....
That many shares coming onto the market at once would cause the price to fall sharply, wiping out a lot of the previous gains. Even if they were sold piecemeal, once the markets realised there was an 'overhang' of shares, the share price would be depressed. In fact the effect would probably be compounded, once the penny dropped that there wasn't a takeover after all.