make 75c on every share you buy now, page-19

Relevant text is actually on the "Transfer and Acceptance Form" sent out with the offer documentation.

Just below the summary of your holding (total number of shares held) at 21 March 2014, and the number which calculated as 37.5% of that, there is .....

"By accepting the Offer, you are accepting the Offer for 37.5% of your holding as being held by you at the date your acceptance is processed (even if different to the number stated above)".

There is also note related to what happens if accepting the offer would leave you with a value of less than $500 in shares (essentially, if accepting the offer takes your holding to less than $500 worth, it applies to all your shares).

Let's say you accept the offer, and then sell some shares before the acceptance is processed. My interpretation is that you would get the offer price for 37.5% (3/8) of the shares you hold on that day, which would be a reduction.

The gist is that, if you accept the offer and sell shares at the market rate before your acceptance is processed (which is up to a month after you submit your acceptance) the offer applies only 3/8 to the shares you have left.

I doubt that logic applies if you buy additional shares after accepting the offer though - there are various clauses in the offer booklet saying (in effect) that increases in your holding don't count. For example, in Section 9.1 (e).

There might be a couple of edge cases if you have a small holding but, for most holders of Leighton shares, I suggest that accepting the offer is only worthwhile if you expect Leighton shares to increase in value down track, and are willing to hold onto your remaining shares until they increase to a price acceptable to you. If you believe that, it might even be worthwhile to buy additional shares, although the offer won't apply to them. If you expect Leighton shares to drop, you're better off getting out on market as soon as you can.


In conclusion: if you believe Leighton shares will drop, you're screwed.