ShareSoc suggests shareholders should consider very carefully the Offer for Lees Foods

PRESS RELEASE 22 (27/04/2012)

ShareSoc (the “UK Individual Shareholders Society”) advises shareholders to look very carefully at the offer for Lees Foods. Lees Foods is proposing a recommended management buy-out of the company for a total of £5.6m via a scheme of arrangement. But many shareholders are displeased with the level of the offer.

ShareSoc director David Stredder, a holder of shares in this company, was quoted extensively in the Scottish Herald and the Scotsman newspapers on this subject (Lees Foods is a Scottish company). He suggested that any external valuation of the company would likely put a value of more like £3 per share on the company rather than the £2.30 per share offered. He was also quoted as saying that “It listed seven years ago at £2 per share—so an exit at 230p doesn’t seem a very good return. It seems opportunistic”.

The offer of 230p was only at a very small premium to the previous closing price when it was first revealed. Bearing in mind that the insiders involved in the take-over bid may not be able to vote on the offer, it may be possible to frustrate the bid.

Shareholders in Lees Foods should contact ShareSoc to co-ordinate action on this issue or go to this web site to register your interest and express your opinion: www.freesharedata.com/lees-foods There are other peculiar aspects of this matter. There is, for example, a suggestion that the year-end accounts are being delayed, with only 2011 interim accounts being referenced in the offer document.

Is this yet another example of the poor corporate governance demonstrated by many AIM companies?

For further information, please contact:

Roger W. Lawson,
Chairman,
ShareSoc Telephone: 020-8467-2686
Email:
info@sharesoc.org

Note any members of the press who wish to receive a complimentary copy of our informative monthly newsletter should send a request to info@sharesoc.org . Our newsletters cover not just the affairs of our organisation but contain general financial news and commentary. An example of our past newsletters is available on our web site. You can also follow ShareSoc on Twitter from @ShareSocUK.

About the UK Individual Shareholders Society (ShareSoc)

ShareSoc represents and supports individual investors who invest in the UK stock markets (and who own as much as 30% of the shares in UK public companies in aggregate). We are a mutual association controlled by our members with “not-for-profit” articles and incorporated as a company limited by guarantee. The organisation is financed by member subscriptions, donations from supporters and by the services it provides to members. Associate Membership of ShareSoc is free and is open to everyone with an interest in stock market investment. More information on ShareSoc can be obtained from our web site at www.sharesoc.org .

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