If they get the required %, which i beleive is usually 90% then the offer can go compulsory
(I hope someone better informed than I will correct that if reqd)
in which case you have no options open
however you can hold out until then in case!

but its not there yet i think

If they get the required %, which i beleive is usually 90% then the offer can go compulsory
(I hope someone better informed than I will correct that if reqd)
in which case you have no options open
however you can hold out until then in case!

but its not there yet i think

It would be done through a majority shareholder vote.

For you guys : press mention in Today's Guardian Newspaper

Thus, the alternative telecoms operator, firmed 0.25p to 17.25p after chief executive Bill Allan told a Scottish newspaper that taking the company private was an option.


Best Wishes.

One of the articles taken from The Scotsman.

TERRY MURDEN
tmurden@scotlandonsunday.com


IT WOULD be fair to say that Bill Allan, chief executive of Glasgow telecoms company Thus, is rarely content with the world: his targets have ranged from disinterested politicians to the behaviour of some of his rivals. Not for the first time he is upset with the City. Earlier this year he threw his toys out of the pram over a "reduce" recommendation on Thus from Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein; now he is now raging about the marking down of the company's shares when, he argues, Thus is performing reasonably well in a battered sector. Allan, who commutes to Scotland from his home in Tunbridge Wells, is truly disgusted.

There is some justification for this latest show of indignation. The company is in better shape than its peers and, according to Allan, is "getting stronger year by year", although in a sector suffering a severe hangover from the late 1990s boom it is merely less drunk than some of its rivals.

The cause of his concern this time follows a near-20% markdown in the shares after his firm's annual meeting. Allan was apoplectic, and his fury continued into a media dinner last Wednesday when he kept up his rant for the best part of an hour.

He now admits that de-listing may be something for the board to consider and it may be that after a series of meetings with analysts this week, he will ask his fellow directors to take a view. It would be a pity if that were to be the chosen route, but Thus, which spent a few weeks in the FTSE 100 shortly after flotation, would not be the first to show its disillusionment with the City by taking the company private.

Jim McColl at Clyde Blowers was the first in recent times to instigate a Scottish public-to-private transaction after seeing his company so undervalued that overseas customers were beginning to ask if there were fundamental problems. Geoff Ball at Cala Homes was among those who followed suit. It is no wonder that the bosses of small companies are wary of treading the stock market path.

Allan, however, has to be careful not to overreact. Thus is not alone in the telecoms sector in feeling the pinch. Most of his peers are trading at or about their year lows. The markets remain cautious, particularly about the alternative carriers, not least because there are too many of them: apart from Thus, there is Colt, Fibernet, Kingston, Energis, along with overseas competitors - and none is making any real money.

One of the main reasons shares in Thus fell last week was nothing to do with the company's own performance. Colt, a company with far deeper problems, put out a profits warning just days earlier and worried traders ran for cover. After that, Thus didn't stand a chance.

One analyst I spoke to last week was surprised to hear Allan's comments on de-listing, but said it would be a last resort to take such a decision. It would also find it difficult to raise funds for a leveraged buy-out.

The most likely stimulus for the shares will be consolidation. Allan would prefer Thus to be an acquirer and his outburst over the plunging shares probably owed something to the frustration over opportunities lost to use the firm's paper. He was, after all, in talks with Kingston and had made veiled suggestions in the past about making an acquisition using the company's shares.

It is just as likely, however, that Thus will be acquired, possibly by an overseas player. France Telecom and Telefonica have been suggested as possible buyers with Cable & Wireless an outside bet, although C&W's shareholders will be so wary of repeating past mistakes they will want the company to concentrate on getting its own house in order before attempting to pick off any of its rivals.

opto

THUS SELECTED TO INSTALL AND MANAGE PRIMARY COMMUNICATIONS LINK BETWEEN
ICELAND AND EUROPE
26 July 2004 - THUS Plc today announced that it has been selected by FARICE (the international submarine
cable system connecting Iceland and the Faroe Islands to Scotland) to design, install and maintain an optical
backhaul network between FARICEs landing station in Castletown Northern Scotland and the companys
Point of Presence in Edinburgh. Together with FARICEs submarine cable the connection forms the primary
connection between Iceland, the Faroe Islands and mainland Europe. THUS has been awarded a ten year
contract to provide a managed fibre solution, to supply network management to the customers backhaul
network in Scotland.
The THUS managed fibre solution will deploy Dense Wave Division Multiplexing technology to significantly
enlarge the capacity and capability of the FARICE network to carry advanced voice and data services. This
solution will significantly enhance Icelands credentials as a primary location for global businesses to locate
mission critical back office support systems, including off-shore complex web hosting services.
Gudmundur Gunnarsson, chief executive officer at FARICE said, THUS was chosen in a competitive tender
because of its extensive experience and existing support and management systems in Scotland. This
network forms the primary communications link to Europe for Iceland and the Faroe Islands and THUS is
working closely with us to deliver a cost effective solution that meets our needs on such a critical project. It
made sense for THUS to tie the management of this DWDM system into its existing network management
centre which already manages our fibre in Scotland, giving us simple access to a single management view.
THUS already provides the FARICE fibre connection from Castletown to Edinburgh following a contract
announced in 2002. The submarine cable was operational in January 2004 at an initial cost of 45 million
and DWDM is now being used to maximise fibre capacity. The CIENA Metronet system used in the
backhaul in Scotland will initially deliver 4 x 2.5Gbit/s wavelengths but it is capable of delivering 33 x
2.5Gbit/s wavelengths if bandwidth requirements increase in the future.
Bill Allan, chief executive officer at THUS said, This solution has been specifically tailored to FARICE. We
believe this is the first time that any UK operator has offered a managed fibre solution, supplying dedicated
DWDM on a customers optical fibre network. We are delighted to be involved with FARICE, to support and
enhance the capability of this important international communications network. This new contract
demonstrates the close and successful relationship we have established with FARICE.

Further to Optomistic's scotsmans article, could anyone give me a clue as to what would happen if THUS were to de-list i.e. what would happen to share price?
Ta

it would plummet...

Very reassuring hlyeo98! But would we get any warning? i got two different answers of my brokers. One said they get to hear about 2 or 3 days before the other said they just suspend them at mid day.

Yes bestblinds lots of warning, like when you see it on RNS and would you have to be quick to beat the MM's !!
Lets be positive about this THUS is a company making good progress and when Bill Allen made the comment he was probably quite p****d of like the rest of us with the big price drop. Non of the telcos are the markets favourites right now, KCOM made a very good AGM statement followed by an excellent contract win, result no movement, in better times gains would have been in evidence.
All in all when the market decides the time is right the telcos will have their day again and THUS will not be at the bottom of the 'list'

Regards
opto

just a bit on egde that's all got quite a large holding and dont want to lose the lot, thanks for the advice.

Best blinds, I have also got a 'few' and wouldn't like to lose my pot. As we all know there is always an element of risk in the stock market but IMO the risk here is worth taking. The one thing I did not like was the institutions selling their holdings (Morley Fund Management for one) at a large loss as well! This is a worry, but the stock appears to have been absorbed into the market now.
These are my views of course and I hope to be helpful but each of us must make our own decisions, it is our own cash!

Sure Optomistic, i've pulled out today i think i'd rather sit back and see what happens these next 2 or 3 weeks if it pans out ok ill get back in...i think.

bestblinds, I certainly did not wish to encourage you into selling in a hurry, however as you are now holding cash you now have no worries about THUS. When the market turns you will then be able to repurchase if you wish and perhaps show us LTBH'ers how it should be done.
Good luck in your investments
opto

THUS has gone pear-shaped recently - 16p now. I think it will go down to 10-12p within the next month.

Anybody got any idea why its going mad on THUS trades today?

If you check back to the 12 July on this thread, I said to lay
a ruler along the chart that I posted and see which way it pointed.
Nothing has changed.

I can't be bothered to check, but this stock must now be getting
close to dropping out of the Ftse350 into the small caps.
If it does you will have the Ftse 350 and 250 trackers selling
their holdings.
Also, all the CFD and Spreadbetters that use companies that only
make markets in the Ftse350 will also be forced to liquidate
their positions as there will no longer be a market in them.

Any THUS fans care to check this out and post their findings?

Melnibone.

Apparently this is because of a possible bid rumour going around of re-newed interest from C&W.....

Rumour has it that C&W are sitting on 1bn cash pile with THUS or CTM as possible target !

Got this from www.iii.co.uk

Rumour has it that C&W are sitting on 1bn cash pile with THUS or CTM as possible target !