I'm sure they're keen to do that, but with a 10%+ holder outstanding who I assume won't take a lowball offer, I think it will be difficult. This is a good company at a cyclical low, and given the hedge fund owners are in the business of making a strong return over a 3-5 year period, I'm happy to sit and wait alongside them. If they can't get to 90% for compulsory acquisition, I also think it will be a tough sell to the ASX to permit a delisting without an offer at something close to fair value.
The biggest weapon they have at this point is to starve holders of dividends to push the price lower. I suspect it will be hard to drop the payout ratio significantly without being seen to be oppressing minorities, but this is a retailer so I'm sure they'll be extremely conservative on provisioning and writedowns to keep near term profits and dividends low. I'll stick it out and see what happens.
PGR Price at posting:
42.5¢ Sentiment: Hold Disclosure: Held
