SYDNEY (Reuters) – Australian department store operator David Jones Ltd said it will postpone a shareholder vote on a $2 billion takeover bid from South Africa’s Woolworths Holdings Ltd until mid-July after Australian billionaire Solomon Lew took a 9.89 percent stake.
David Jones, the country’s No. 2 retailer by sales, said on Thursday it has obtained court permission to postpone the originally scheduled June 30 meeting until July 14 “to allow sufficient time for the David Jones Board to assess the implications” of Lew’s investment.
Woolworths reacted by issuing a statement on the JSE News Service, the key section of which reads: “Shareholders are advised that David Jones, with the agreement of WHL, applied to the Federal Court of Australia today seeking a two week postponement of the Scheme Meeting previously scheduled to take place on 30 June 2014, following lodgement of a substantial shareholder notice by Australian Retail Investments Pty Ltd (“ARI”) yesterday. The Federal Court of Australia has granted this postponement to allow sufficient time for the David Jones Board to assess the implications of entities associated with Solomon Lew holding 9.89% of David Jones shares. The postponement does not affect the David Jones Board’s unanimous recommendation of the WHL proposal to David Jones shareholders, in the absence of a superior proposal.”
