“We are essentially a long-term player and this is a bit of a disruption to that process, so I’m not certain what we are going to do yet,” Mr Elphinstone said on the sidelines of National Hire’s annual meeting in Perth yesterday.
He said the thought of Seven taking National Hire private and him remaining as a shareholder, was uncomfortable.
“It’s a bit of an apple and a bellyache situation. There’s an apple out there which is the company going forward and the bellyache is the structure you might finish up in.
“If you finally get inside a private company then things can happen, but minority shareholders still have protection and we’ll defend ourselves in that regard if we choose to stay in.”
Mr Elphinstone said there were more than 500 other shareholders who hadn’t accepted the Seven offer, which showed it didn’t represent good value.
In a surprise twist, Mr?Elphinstone nominated himself as a potential bidder for Carlyle’s large stake in Coates Hire yesterday, should the private equity giant want to cash in on its investment.
“If [Carlyle] chooses to exit, there will be a number of options that will be available .?.?. and we’ll just consider that on its merits if we are still in there,” Mr Elphinstone said.
He confirmed that he had not yet?held talks with the US-based private equity group.
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NHR Price at posting:
$3.50 Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Not Held
