Despite Myer shares surging 21.25 per cent to 48¢ after Myer said that the business was recording better sales and a net profit of $60M a parcel of 19.2 million shares changed hands at $0.50 cents this week with speculation that the business is still a potential takeover target.
Analysts have singled out Solomon Lew’s Premier Investments which is now run by former JB Hi Fi Group CEO Richard Murray as the buyer.
The purchase was at a 13.6 premium to the last close of 44¢, implying the buyer was quite prepared to pay a premium price to secure a stake in the big department store retailer.
Speculation about Solomon Lew’s Premier Investments came into play after the six-month break imposed by creep provisions expired after the retail operator last bought Myer shares in late January when he picked up 3.9 per cent (or 31.7 million).
This resulted in Premier Investments holding a 19.9 per cent shareholding in Myer.
the latest acquisition was handled by Blue Ocean Equities, which Lew has used in the past for Myer shares purchases.
The transacted stake represented 2.3 per cent of the company.
It comes after Myer, on July 26, told market it expected full-year sales to be between 12.3 per cent and 12.7 per cent higher to hit up to $2 billion.
The AFR said that the retail billionaire has been a thorn in Myer board’s side since 2017 and has tried to spill the board while Myer failed to turn a profit for two of the last four years.
Myer, in turn, has accused him of trying to take control of the company without paying the premium. It also hired Ron Malek’s Luminis Partners and law firm Clayton Utz last year as defence advisers.