Is £10 offer fair on compulsory takeover?

digerati

I was a shareholder in a publicly listed PLC which was the subject of a takeover bid by an indirect subsidiary of another publicly listed PLC in early 1996. I received all the takeover documentation, but was precluded from taking part in the takeover offer as I was resident in a country that was explicitly excluded from acceptances for regulatory reasons. After a time the offer became unconditional and I became a dissenting shareholder.

Over the next decade I tried numerous times without success to contact the taken over companies registrar so as to obtain full compensation for my compulsory purchased shares.

I've finally been contacted by an agent for the company that took over the company in which I was a shareholder. They have offered me the original sum of around £800 due plus £10 interest for the intervening 16 years - is this a fair settlement? What are my options?

newbie1980

all depends on lots of things

shareholder with1 or 10000 shares???
value of shares at time of sale????

digerati

newbie1980 wrote: »

all depends on lots of things

shareholder with1 or 10000 shares???
value of shares at time of sale????

Total value of shares was £800 via the takeover offer which went unconditional after over 90% acceptance. However I couldn't participate.

N1AK

I would certainly suggest asking for a more favourable interest payment if as seems to be the case the delay in payment is due to their inaction.

What they are doing is offering you 0.08% pa interest (effectively nothing). Even at just 2% pa you're money would have been worth £1100 by now.

I don't know what you are legally entitled to and it may be worth asking an expert. That said, given the sum I'd be tempted to write to them explaining that had they paid promptly you would likely have ~£1,400 by now (below 4% return) but that in the interest of a quick settlement you'd accept £1100. If they then hold fast at £810 I'd consider how much effort I wanted to put into pursuing it.

alanq

If someone had a duty to pay you a sum of money on a certain date and failed to do so then and interest rate of 8% is due. NS&I paid this to me and others in addition to underpaid interest following a miscalculation a few years ago.

This may not apply in this case but I would have thought that you were due what you would have got had you had the money to invest elsewhere. The FOS site mentions BOE base rate + 1% as a possible basis.

http://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/publications/technical_notes/compensation-for-investment-loss.htm

Without the full facts and legal training I don't know what applies in this case. Perhaps you should ask how the £20 was arrived at. Is it described as interest or is it an ex gratia payment?