Re: Northumberland Development Project - Archway On Fire
Can you tell me what percentage that £66 million has allowed them to increase their holding by? I would be interested to see what good/bad value ENIC are getting for their investment.
Hard to say, really.
When ENIC first took over the management of the club, they owned a tad under 30%.
There was a rights issue in January 2004. ENIC subscribed to their 30% share and, having underwritten the issue, also subscribed to the 40-45% of offered shares that weren't taken up by shareholders. In all, their contribution was about £11m of the £15m raised. This increased their shareholding to something in the region of 54%. If memory serves, that represented a price paid of about 40p per share. That was certainly cheap given that it valued the club at something like £45-50m (24% for £11m) at a time when the club was most likely worth £100m or more. But also bear in mind that this was a rights issue and that all existing shareholders had had the option to subscribe and thereby maintain their percentage shareholding. Nevertheless, ENIC would have counted on many existing shareholders (especially those who, as fans, merely held a token shareholding) failing to subscribe.
ENIC subsequently paid £25m for Sugar's remaining 12% in 2007 - taking their overall shareholding to 66%. Then, in 2009, they contributed pretty much all of the £15m raised by a share placement, at 50p per share.
All of the above is muddied by the fact that, at various times, the club itself bought back shares and took them out of circulation. Furthermore, ENIC also bought an unspecified number of other shares from existing shareholders after having finally bought Sugar out. I imagine, too, that they bought yet more shares when the company delisted. So it's something of a guesstimate to say that their shareholding stands at somewhere between 85-90% and that they would have paid in the region of £110-140m for it.
As to the latest £40m interest free loan that is due to be converted into equity, no details have yet been published (that I'm aware of) as to how many shares it will buy them and at what price.
