Just sharing as I dug a little deeper into the corporations act myself on some things to see if there are any loopholes to be aware of.
There is a 'creep' rule in the corporations act where they can acquire up to 2.99% of the company after a 6 month period: s611
Manner of acquisition3% creep in 6 months
An acquisition by a person if:
(a) throughout the 6 months before the acquisition that person, or any other person, has had voting power in the company of at least 19%; and
(b) as a result of the acquisition, none of the persons referred to in paragraph (a) would have voting power in the company more than 3 percentage points higher than they had 6 months before the acquisition.
Reaching 50% (as they may do 6 months from now) will not allow them to pass a resolution to acquire more shares, as they may not participate in the vote.
Any other acquisition of shares can only be undertaken via a new bid to all security holders, and, if done within 4 months (s621(3) and RG 9.155 of ASIC Regulatory Guide RG 9 Takeover bids), the consideration offered must be equal or greater than the previous bid.
Please let me know if I am wrong, this is my interpretation and I am far from an expert.
