David Jones takeover bid goes Kerr-plunk!

02 July 2012 | 18:09 - By Ricardo Goncalves

So even before we began hearing from disgruntled shareholders or Australians furious at the fact that another Australian brand was to be taken over by an overseas investor, the possibility faded.

Today, EB Private Equity pulled its $1.65billion bid for upmarket retailer David Jones.

The fact of the matter is that, I don’t think many people took the bid very seriously because of the limited information available about the bidder.

That didn't stop some investors from propelling the David Jones share price nearly 20 per cent higher at one stage, when the news was made public on Friday.

Mind you, Friday was the last trading day of the financial year, so that little boost in the DJs share price would have made some fund managers very happy, propping up their portfolios. Furthermore, any executives who are rewarded for share price performance based on the end of the financial year, may also be smiling.

Still, David Jones informed the market on Friday morning, that it had received an unsolicited letter from a non-incorporated UK entity, which it said, had no usual public information available. It also went on to say that directors didn’t have enough information to value the approach and recommended shareholders treat any related market comment cautiously.

A few hours later, it identified EB Equity Partners as the bidders, because a UK blog had named the entity.

Shares skyrocketed.

The market closed.

The 2011/12 financial year wrapped up.

This afternoon, David Jones shares went into a trading halt, as it revealed the proposal was pulled by the British company, which according to Fairfax has its office wedged between a wig shop and a noodle store in Newcastle, England.

EB Private Equity said that the recent publicity around its proposal made it too difficult to proceed.

It does seem David Jones kept the market informed of any developments following good corporate governance principles.

But surely the Australian Securities and Investments Commission will have to take a look at all the trades that were placed on Friday just to make sure everything lined up.

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About this Blog

SBS Presenter Ricardo Goncalves with the latest in finance.

Ricardo Goncalves Ricardo Goncalves is a Presenter / Reporter for SBS World News Australia

 
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