Holding these for shareholder discount and the belief that someone will come along with a plan on what to do with them .....

Now could be the right time to get in for a ride northwards with little downside risk


ains


Thread started at 95p mid - currently at a high of 129p - up 35.79%








Investec Securities took the stock off its "sell" list citing among other factors the potential for "corporate action".


Banks call in Ernst & Young to check out Thistle Hotels
By Lauren Mills and Damian Reece (Filed: 02/02/2003)


Thistle Hotels' bankers, led by the Royal Bank of Scotland, have hired Ernst & Young to carry out a review of the business which could lead to sweeping management changes and disposals at the hotels group.

Although Thistle has around 320m in the bank, the banks are thought to be alarmed at the group's precarious trading position. They are also said to be questioning the ability of the management to steer the company through a period of uncertainty in the market.

In January, Thistle revealed a 10.5 per cent drop in average room rates in London last year. It also refused to give details of how it planned to spend the cash raised through the disposal of 31 regional hotels to Orb Estates last March for 600m. As part of the deal, Thistle retained management contracts to run the hotels.

The group also admitted it would be difficult to forecast turnover for 2003 because it remained "cautious as to when there will be a recovery in general hotel trading conditions".

Ernst & Young is expected to report back to the banks on the company's overall financial strength within the next two weeks. E&Y is likely to focus on current trading, as well as prospects for improving performance in a relentlessly difficult market.

The accountancy firm will also advise the banks on a range of strategic options including further disposals.

Thistle's shares rallied 9p to 98p at the end of last week after Investec Securities cited "corporate activity" as a reason for taking the stock off its "sell" list.

Ian Burke, the chief executive, is under mounting pressure to clarify whether he plans to return the cash to shareholders or spend it on acquisitions.

His indecision is causing friction among Thistle's leading institutional shareholders who hold differing views about what should be done with the cash.

The two biggest shareholders, each of which has a seat on the board, are BIL International, which owns 45.8 per cent, and the Government of Singapore which has a 13.1 per cent stake.

Other large investors include Havelock Investments and Tweedy Brown Company.

A spokesman for the company insisted it knew nothing of E&Y's review. He also confirmed that Burke would update the City with a strategic plan for the group when it announces its year-end results in early March.

working lunch doing a thing on thistle

I'm not going to do anything with these. I got this from the offer docs:

BIL (UK) intends, as soon as it becomes entitled to do so, to apply the
provisions of sections 428 to 430F (inclusive) of the Companies Act to acquire
compulsorily any outstanding Thistle Shares to which the Offer relates.

So if they do get 90% of the private investor shares they will then acquire the rest of the shares. So whats all this crap about ending up with shares in a unlisted company!!!!!!!!!!!

They will apply to delist and can do much as they please on divs - with the money etc .... very high risk imho

Yes, but they can only delist if the own 100% of the shares

That's not true ..... if they withdraw the cash offer the shares will fall and it's in their interest to let that happen


ains

The offer says after the mention of the compulsorily purchasing all the shares that "BIL also intends, when practicable, to procure that Thistle applies for the cancellation of the listing of Thistle Shares on the Official List of the UK Listing Authority and for the cancellation of trading in Thistle Shares on the London Stock Exchange's market for listed securities."

When practicable is after they have compulsorily purchased all the shares. If they don't get them they can't delist!

So what if they withdraw and the price drops. If they tried again the price will just go up again. The only reason it's currently at 1.3 is because most people would sell out when it was lower.....

I think you will find they can delist before then ..... most advice is to sell now the board have capitulated and resigned

I had this before, and didn't sell then.

When they had enough people accepting, and they paid everyone out I also got a cheque. The company ceased to exist in its previous form and the shares were cancelled, so they didn't need my certificate.

They apply to the courts - it has happened to me on the odd occasion where I have a few tucked away somewhere. Last time it was script shares on Powergen that I forgot about

BIL's Amarsi named chief of Thistle Hotels
By Josephine Cumbo in London
Published: May 9 2003 13:30 | Last Updated: May 9 2003 13:30


Thistle Hotels has announced the appointment of a new chief executive and chairman less than a week after BIL, the Singapore-based investment company, obtained a controlling stake in the UK group.


Thistle, which had fought the hostile takeover bid from BIL, said that Arun Amarsi, current BIL chief executive, had been appointed CEO and managing director.

Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan, current BIL chairman, would also take over the same role at the hotels' group, Thistle said.

Along with the appointments, Thistle said that David Newbigging, Ian Burke, Charles Mackay, Arthur Hayes and Baroness O'Cathain had also resigned as directors.

The board changes come after BIL declared its improved 627m, or 130p-a-share, bid for the group unconditional after increasing its majority stake to more than 50 per cent. BIL is hoping that Thistle's remaining shareholders will also fall into line and help lift its equity level to 75 per cent, when it can take the company private.

BIL launched its original 115p-a-share offer at the beginning of March. Thistle tried to fight off the approach by claiming the group was worth more than 200p a share.

Thistle shares were flat at 130p in midday trading in London.

You wonder what success would be worth ..... it's a fing sad country where we pay for failure over and over again



Thistle chief set for 300,000 pay-off
By Alistair Osborne, Associate City Editor (Filed: 10/05/2003)


Ian Burke is in line for a 300,000 pay-off after being forced out as chief executive of Thistle Hotels yesterday following the group's 627m hostile takeover by its biggest shareholder, BIL International.

BIL, the Singaporean investment group which currently controls 58pc of Thistle stock and has declared its 130p-a-share offer unconditional, yesterday instigated a major board shake-up at London's biggest hotelier.

It saw the departure of five directors, including Mr Burke and David Newbigging, the non-executive chairman who will receive 60,000 compensation. Three other non-execs - Charles Mackay, Arthur Hayes and Baroness O'Caithan - also left.

Arun Amarsi, BIL's chief executive, becomes chief executive of Thistle, while existing non-executive, Tan Sri Quek Leng Chan, becomes chairman. Ian Durant, 44, Thistle's finance director, has been retained by BIL in the same role.

Mr Burke, 46, who joined Thistle in 1998, earned a total of 373,000 last year but, under a complex change-of-control clause in his contract, is entitled to less than a full-year's salary. Yesterday a BIL spokesman said: "He is being paid his legal entitlement."

Mr Burke will earn less than 10,000 from exercising share options at the takeover price, while his performance shares have failed to meet their targets. His pension is "under discussion", a BIL spokesman said.

Mr Burke resisted an intial 115p-a-share bid from BIL, which owned 46pc of the stock when it launched its bid. Shareholders buckled earlier this month when BIL raised its offer to 130p per share.

BIL added that it was appointing two new non-executive directors to the Thistle board. They are Michael Cairns, former chief operating officer of hotelier Queens Moat Houses, and ex-HSBC banker Thomas Robson.

So now we know why the board gave in so easily!

............and while you lot have been arguing over THO the BIL price in Singapore hits 84c.
Just double what it was mid to late April.
BIL rides off into the sunset...........

.........saddlebags stuffed with THO loot.

Arguing and discussion are two different things aspex and it's easy to see something in hindsight. No one knew at the times that BIL was going to win and 36% is okay from mpov. seems to me that the regulator should get involved and maybe they will.


ains

ains
I just wonder why BIL floated THO while leaving 45% in the pocket.
To me it means that they have always wanted to get back into the drivers seat.
Remember that the only reason they sold off any shares before was that they got caught originally with over 30% of Mt Charlotte and were forced to find money they did not have to buy out the others.
Then they needed to sell off as little as possible at 170p because to sell off more would have lost them the asset base of THO and caused banking headaches.

Anyway as that is well in the past,it now looks like the Singapore crowd are getting ready to poach some of the THO crumbs by making a bid for the rest of BIL.
see :
http://www.uk-wire.com/cgi-bin/articles/200305120700119458K.html
The above has been discussed as a probability for some time - as early as 2000/1

I agree it probably does mean that ..... several bid situations were allowed to just fizz out. I think it's not a good situation for the minority and/or smaller shareholders and belive it should be referred. There is an enormous chunk of cash there - presumably they cannt touch at the moment .... unless they spend it.



ains

BIL now hold 61.17%

Jake Lloyd-Smith in Singapore, Evening Standard
12 May 2003

HARES in BIL International, the Singapore investment group that recently took over Thistle Hotels, roared higher on speculation that it may soon be the subject of a takeover battle between two Asian tycoons.




The stock jumped 18% to 82 cents as investors savoured the prospect of a duel for the group, whose 627m offer secured full control of Thistle and its 24 London hotels earlier this month at a big discount to the properties' net* asset value.


Thistle's six luxury landmark hotels, including the Royal Horseguards in Whitehall, could fetch up to 670m on any resale, according to sources close to the hotel group.


Last week, it emerged that renowned Indonesian-born asset trader Oei Hong Leong had amassed 8.1% of BIL after it took over Thistle. Oei is a major figure in the Singapore market with a vast retail investor following.


In response, BIL's controlling shareholder, Malaysian Quek Leng Chan, boosted his stake to 26% from 24% through his Camerlin investment group.


Analysts say BIL's purchase of Thistle has raised its net asset value* per share, stoking Oei's predatory interest and Quek's prompt response. 'Oei is well known as a savvy asset trader with an eye for selecting undervalued companies,' broker Kim Eng Ong Asia told clients. Its sum-of-parts valuation for BIL is S$1.11 per share.


Apart from Thistle, BIL owns a 5% stake in Asian beverage maker Fraser & Neave, a similar-sized holding in Air New Zealand and property assets in Fiji.

Eased back now to about 78c.
Asset backing of BIL is about 111c but may have increased with the THO under full control because they have THO at 130p when the assets are worth up to 211p.
That would 81p 0n 260m shares -say 220m pounds ($NZ600m) or another 40c per share.
NTA is then 150c
Only problem is I don't know how they have consolidated the 45% they had before the bid. If they played by the rules then another 35c could be added for those shares.
175c would be more than double the present price in teh market.
And it depends on the ability to realise 211p

They may have a bit of a problem on realising 211p ....... they were expecting to get their hands on the cash mountain ... that's not possible now without giving lots of it away



ains