Ironic? The shares in Godfreys, the embattled vacuum cleaner retailer closed at an all time low of 21 cents on Monday at 4pm, and an hour and 17 minutes later the 99-year-old co-founder and still major shareholder revealed plans to make a takeover bid for the entire company and take it private.
John Johnston, who will turn 100 in July, was one of the founders of Godfreys in the 1930s (joining in 1936) and currently owns about 28% of the company and yesterday evening revealed plans to launch a 32 cents-a-share bid through family business Arcade Finance to take Godfreys private and rebuild its ailing fortunes.
Mr Johnston also owns major stakes in the Shaver Shop chain and the Munro Footwear Group, which owns brands including Williams, Mathers, Colorado and Diana Ferrari.
Since listing in 2014 at $2.75, Godfreys has suffered falling sales, multiple changes of senior management and a sustained slide in share price to Monday’s all time low.
Arcade Finance currently holds just over 28% of Godfreys shares while an associated company, 1918 Finance, which is also owned by Mr Johnston and his family, is the lender to Godfreys.
"I co-founded Godfreys with Godfrey Cohen in the 1930s," Mr Johnston said in a letter to Godfreys shareholders.
"Since then I have been a strong supporter of Godfreys. This offer is a highly attractive one and represents compelling value."
"Arcade proposes to remove Godfreys from the ASX official list upon acquisition to give Godfreys the best opportunity to restore its value and restore the confidence of its employees, franchises and suppliers with respect to its performance," he said.
“If the Arcade bid is successful, Arcade will apply to de-list Godfreys from the ASX and continue to operate Godfreys as a private company,” a spokesman said.
“Arcade and Mr Johnston see this as the best opportunity to restore value to the company and the confidence of its employees, franchisees and suppliers.
“Arcade believes the restructuring required to restore Godfreys value would best be carried out in a private company environment.
“The all-cash offer provides an excellent opportunity for the more than 1200 shareholders in Godfreys to realise some immediate value for their shares.”
Godfreys has more than 200 franchise and company-owned stores across Australia, employing more than 400 people.
In February the company reported a $59 million first half loss after a further slide in sales, thanks to a $75 million impairment loss. Underlying profit fell 62% to $900,000 while same store sales slid 6.2%.
The takeover offer is expected to open on April 24 and to will close on May 24, unless extended.
