Petchey and co given Lookers deadline
JACK Petchey and fellow investors mulling a takeover of the Manchester car dealer Lookers have been given a month to make a bid or walk away.
The Takeover Panel, which administers takeovers and mergers, has told the consortium that it must make a formal bid by the close of play on June 8.
Petchey, through his Isle of Man-based investment company Trefick, teamed up with Sir Philip Green’s stepson Brett Palos and the property investor Moor Park to launch last week’s takeover approach.
On April 27 Lookers told the market that an 11% spike in its share price was down to a “highly speculative” takeover approach which had been “firmly rejected” by the board.
In a statement to the market on Tuesday Petchey’s consortium said Lookers, which has a market value of £249m, has not supplied the information required to confirm the offer.
Mr Petchey built a 21% stake in Lookers but sold some of his holding in 2009 and now has 17.2%. The other major shareholder in Lookers is industry veteran Tony Bramall, who with his family holds nearly 23% of the shares.
