Finally, it’s over – the drawn-out Village Roadshow takeover saga – suitable for screening in one of the company’s cinemas has moved into the final phase – ratification by the courts.
That’s after 83.7% of shares at a meeting of shareholders, voted in favour of the takeover bid by private equity group BGH.
The scheme needed to be approved by 75% of shares and more than 50% of investors by number.
The deal moved to the verge of approval in late November after BGH increased its offer price from $2.32 per share to $3 and won the support of institutional shareholder Spheria Asset Management.
Spheria and the remaining dissident shareholder Mittleman Brothers of New York owned a combined 22.14% stake in Village Roadshow.
It was enough to vote down Scheme A, which does not allow brothers John and Robert Kirby and former chief executive Graham Burke to vote their 42% stake in the company.
Mittleman had indicated that it still opposed the offer as too low. It had wanted an offer around $5 a share.
Helping win approval was the warning to investors that the group would need to raise funds if the takeover was not approved.
Village Roadshow said its operating cash flow, excluding capital expenses, was negative for the year-to-date and will remain negative for the remainder of the financial year ending June 30.
Net debt is expected to rise from $311 million at present to as much as $380 million by June 30, 2021.
After Federal Court approval of the deal on December 15, that becomes BGH’s problem.
The re-opening of Queensland’s borders to all other states will help boost the finances of Village’s Gold Coast theme parks this summer.
