Boparan now holds or has agreed to acquire a total of 34.4% of Northern's existing share capital - given the 11.4% stake he held prior to today - which means the owner of 2 Sisters Food Group could now (since he holds over 25% of Northern's shares) potentially block any rival takeover bid from Greencore.
In a stock exchange announcement released last night, Boparan Holdings Limited announced that Northern shareholders now have until 1pm on March 16 to accept the businessman’s offer, although “shareholders who wish to accept (and have not yet validly accepted) the offer are urged to take action as soon as possible”.
The announcement added that, as of 1pm today, Boparan received valid acceptances from shareholders in respect of 107,933,805 Northern Foods shares, representing approximately 23.03% of the firm’s existing share capital.
Unconditional controlling stake
Boparan already holds 22.4m Northern Foods Shares and, the announcement said, has agreed to acquire 30,924,465 Northern Foods Shares held by Saerimner Limited, conditional upon his offer becoming, or being declared unconditional.
This means that - given his existing 11.4% holding - Boparan has acquired or agreed to acquire or received valid acceptances in respect 34.4% of Northern's existing share capital; a number that falls far short of the 75% he requires for an unconditional controlling stake.
All eyes were on Greencore ahead of Boparan's initial deadline of today for Northern shareholders, which passed without the Irish convenience food group tabling a rival offer for the firm.
In a short stock exchange announcement this morning, Greencore noted BH Acquisitions' extension of its offer to 1pm on March 16, and did not rule out a possible counter: "Greencore confirms it is still considering its options in relation to Northern Foods and a further announcement will be made in due course," it said.