British subprime lender Non-Standard Finance (NSF) said on Tuesday its investors had authorised the issue of new shares for its planned hostile takeover of Provident Financial.
At a general meeting, 99.99 percent of votes cast were in favour of a resolution allowing directors to issue new shares, NSF said in a statement.
“We are very pleased with the overwhelming support our shareholders have shown for our plan to acquire Provident Financial,” NSF’s Chief Executive Officer John van Kuffeler said.
“With this strong mandate we encourage all Provident shareholders to accept our offer as soon as possible so that we can get on with the job of completing the offer,” he added.
Kuffeler, who left Provident in 2013 after 22 years, is leading an unsolicited 1.3 billion pound ($1.7 billion) bid to buy the company, which has run into trouble with regulators worried about the rates it charges on loans.
Provident, established in 1880 and based in the northern English city of Bradford, has said NSF’s offer is not in the interests of its shareholders.
NSF’s offer has the backing of Neil Woodford, Invesco and Marathon, investors that together hold more than 50 percent of both NSF and Provident.
Source: Reuters.com