Chester T. Dean 
The deadline for the takeover of Cambria Automobiles by chief executive Mark Lavery has been extended by a week after shareholders refrained from accepting the terms of its £ 82.5million offer.
Lavery’s offer failed to secure the 75% controlling stake needed to complete the takeover process before the original September 3 deadline, reaching 74.76% with its own 40% stake included in total.
A new deadline of September 10 has now been set – in a statement released via the London Stock Exchange this morning (September 6) – in an attempt to bring the deal to fruition.
In an interview with AM last month, Lavery rejected angry claims by U.S. shareholders that his bid for the AM100 because retail PLC is akin to “theft” because they claimed that it grossly undervalues ​​the company.
On August 27, as Cambria released a much-anticipated business update, a Financial Times columnist wondered if “Cambria investors are welcome to trade in their Lamborghini for the price of a used Mini,” adding that “used cars make up about half of Cambria’s sales, so it’s hard to believe they have not benefited from the unusual used car market.
Lavery, however, insisted that the offer was fair and reasonable. He told AM: “At 82.5 pence per share, the price we are offering to shareholders is 66.6% higher than the average price over the past 12 months.”
Today’s statement detailing the status of Lavery’s takeover bid, using its new company Bidco, revealed that buyout acceptances have now been received from shareholders with 34,758,936 Cambria shares.
The press release adds that Bidco’s offer is final and will not be increased unless an offer for Cambria is issued by a third party.
In last month’s interview, Lavery told AM that funding Bidco’s takeover offer for Cambria had “not been easy,” explaining that the money was generated from a combination of bank debt and £ 2.5million in personal funds.
He said “I take all the risks now,†adding, “My priority here is the company, its colleagues, our manufacturing partners and shareholders.
“We are entering a tough time for the industry and going private will allow us to focus on what lies ahead with all the distractions.”
Assuming Bidco’s takeover bid is declared unconditional, the London Stock Exchange will be asked to cancel trading of Cambria shares on the AIM market and Cambria’s listing.
The cancellation would take effect at the earliest 20 working days after the acquisition by Bidco of the 75% stake.
Today’s statement said: “All remaining Cambria shareholders would become minority shareholders of a majority-controlled limited liability company and therefore may be unable to sell their Cambria shares.
“There is no certainty that Cambria would pay any other dividends or other distributions or that these minority Cambria shareholders would again be offered the possibility of selling their Cambria shares on terms equivalent or no less advantageous than those of the final cash offer. . “
