Pension provider Pointon York’s formal sale does not expose a loophole in the UK Takeover Panel’s new requirement for bidder identification, a corporate lawyer has warned.
Pointon York announced on September 13 that it will undergo a formal sale process following “several confidential approaches”. Under Takeover Code changes that came into force on Monday, the Takeover Panel can give dispensation to offeror companies to keep potential bidders private.
Offerors undergoing a formal sale can also apply to the Panel to waive the ban on break fees, however this was not requested in the Pointon York sale.
Gillian Fairfield of Herbert Smith however warns that companies looking to go down this route must be careful as the Panel has made clear it doesn’t expect the formal sale to be a loophole.
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