A Sydney based investment Company Adamantum Capital has offered an opening bid of between $NZ1.50 to $NZ1.70 per share, for the poor performing New Zealand based retailer The Warehouse, shares in the Company climbed on the news.

ChannelNews understands that founder and major shareholder Stephen Tindall is open to the offer for the business that sells both consumer electronics and appliances.

The company told the New Zealand Exchange this morning that the Company had received an indicative non-binding bid from the Australian private equity firm to take over The Warehouse Group through a scheme of arrangement.

Tindall, his foundation and associated trusts support the proposal, the company said.

Tindall owns 27% of the company, and his foundation holds 21.3%.

Several suppliers to Australian retailers supply the Warehouse Group out of Australian and via Australian operated distributors.

The bid values the company at between about $NZ520m and $NZ590m.

Australian and New Zealand investment bank Jarden has emerged as a defence adviser to The Warehouse.

Adamantem was established in 2016 by Anthony Kerwick and Rob Koczkar to make controlled investments in companies with an enterprise value of between A$100 million and A$300 million, they are using New Zealand advisory firm Craig’s, which is an affiliate of JPMorgan.

Mr Tindall and the Tindall Foundation, which own more than half of the company, will remain as owners.

The Warehouse said they would remain invested in the company through reinvesting a portion of their consideration in the acquirer of the company, resulting in the founder shareholders having a shareholding of up to 50 per cent in the acquirer.

All other shareholders would receive cash.
There must be a majority of 75 per cent of shareholders who vote for the deal in order for the deal to proceed.

The company has told shareholders to take no action.

The offer is considered opportunistic, as it comes after a period of poor performance for The Warehouse, with shares trading at below $NZ1 per share before the offer emerged — more than three times lower than a year ago.

Shares on Tuesday were trading at $NZ1.42 per share.

The Warehouse has become one of NZ’s most iconic retailers. Tindall’s son Robert serves as a director on the board.

The shares were worth more than $NZ7 per share in 2007.

For the 2023 financial year, The Warehouse generated $NZ29.8m in adjusted net profit, down from $NZ89.3m in the previous year, and it has $NZ48.1m net debt.

David Richards contributed to this story.Â