Dubai's Dar Group 13.35pc stake WorleyParsons Read more: http://www.copyright link/business/cons, page-69

@Barkston ,

This doesn't apply in this situation because at no stage have Dar Group said they have no intention of making a tilt at WOR.

What Dar Group said is that they had "no present intention of initiating discussions with WorleyParsons a change of control transaction."

But that doesn't preclude Dar Group from making an unsolicited, hostile bid for the company.

As I said before, if they were willing to pay $11.80 before, given they could get to 19.99% of shares at an average price of around $10.30, it means that they could afford to pay around $12.20 for the remaining 80% of the issued shares, and it would still leave their weighted average consideration price at $11.80.

And under a hostile takeover offer at $12.20, the stock would fly out of the door.


Also, what Dar have said also doesn't preclude the Worley board from initiating any discussions with Dar (which, after the debacle that was the most recent financial result, is what Worley's major shareholders would surely have directed [*]).

Which is what is happening right now, I'm sure, with the dead duck WOR board having a mandate from shareholders to get Dar Group to up its bid, which the board will be compelled to accept, and to recommend shareholder acceptance.

Otherwise Dar will likely go hostile.

And then the position of the WOR board will change from its current state of compromised embarrassment, to outright shame.


[*] That, I am certain, is the reason Dar included that very specific wording in its statement - "no present intention of initiating discussions with WorleyParsons a change of control transaction"... to indicate quite clearly that any prospect of discussions about a takeover was squarely in the hands of WOR shareholders, who needed to give the WOR board a few not-so-gentle prods with some sharp sticks.

In other words, paraphrased, the message from Dar Group to WOR's major shareholders is, "They refused to hear what we had to say, so if you want the offer to be put to you, then you need to force them to the negotiating table."