Henlys rejects a Cowie takeover bid
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• Henlys has issued a defence document warning its shareholders to reject a takeover bid from T Cowie. It promises changes at its bodybuilding business Plaxton will save at least £2.5m a year and says that if it accepted the £27.9m bid it would be handing loss-making Plaxton to a management which has no coach and bus manufacturing experience.
Hen lys claims that Cowie, which owns PCV dealership Cleckheaton-based Hughes Daf, has nothing to teach it about
coach and bus distribution.
"Shareholders should reject the offer and stay with Henlys to reap the benefits from the actions already implemented by management," says Henlys chairman Michael Doherty.
"Cowie has timed its offer to take advantage of a peak in its share price at a time when the Henlys coach and bus division has been severely affected by the recession." Cowie's bid was put forward after Henlys warned the City the group would stay in the red for the half year to 30 June 1992, mainly because of slack PCV sales. However, it has been rejected by Henlys board as a "derisory and opportunistic attempt to seize the underlying value of Henlys from its share holders at their expense".
The document also questions the sustainability of Cowie's share price and asks how can Cowie add anything financially with gearing of over 400%.