Davenport Lyons advises Millwall on ambitious share consolidation
12 Oct 2010
Davenport Lyons has advised Millwall Holdings Plc, the company behind the Championship football team, on perhaps one of the most ambitious share consolidations in English legal history.
The club had a huge number of shareholders on its register, some owning less than £1 worth of shares, the administration of which was a large financial burden for the club. The reduction in the number of shareholders, along with other cost-control measures, helps the club to secure its long-term future.
Partner, Jeanette Gregson, who led the Davenport Lyons team, consisting of Associate Richard Elliott and Assistant David Martin said, “Many of the shareholders arrived at the meeting against the proposals. However, once they understood the benefits to the club of the consolidation a majority of them decided that the loss of their shares was a personal sacrifice worth making.”
The majority of shareholders in attendance voted in favour of the proposal reducing the number of shareholders from around 43,500 to around 8,500. An open offer to existing shareholders to subscribe for new shares in the company is expected to be made within the next few weeks. Details of the open offer are yet to be announced.
