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Slaters officially delists
Following the compulsory acquisition of its remaining securities by private equity firm Allegro Funds, Slater & Gordon is no longer on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Jerome Doraisamy
In a market announcement on the afternoon of Friday, 28 April, national plaintiff law firm Slater & Gordon (ASX: SGH) noted that it was set to be removed from the official list at the close of trading on that date.
The news follows last week’s filing of a class action by Slaters against telco giant Optus, in the wake of its massive data breach late last year.
On 24 February, Slaters confirmed that the company had signed a bid implementation agreement (BIA) with a subsidiary of Allegro Funds, providing for a recommended off-market takeover for 100 per cent of the listed company shares at $0.55 per share.
The directors of Slater & Gordon “unanimously support” the offer made by Allegro, the firm said at the time, and recommended that its shareholders accept the offer, in the absence of a superior proposal and subject to independent expert guidance.
“The board has carefully considered the offer and concluded the value and certainty provided provides greater benefit to shareholders than retaining their shares,” the firm said in its market announcement.
Speaking to Lawyers Weekly on the same day, Slater & Gordon chief executive John Somerville said that the day-to-day of the legal practice would continue.
“This is not about turnaround, this is not about restructure. This is about investment for growth,” he posited.
When asked if media reports about expectations that Allegro would recapitalise the listed law firm and execute a turnaround plan were incorrect, Mr Somerville said: “Yes.”
In a letter to the shareholders of listed national law firm Slater & Gordon in early March, private equity firm Allegro Funds outlined its intentions for the BigLaw practice.
By early April, Allegro had surpassed a stake of 90 per cent ownership in Slaters and thus moved to appoint two new board directors for the plaintiff firm — one of its founding partners, Adrian Loader, as well as its managing director, Johan Krynauw.
Jerome Doraisamy
Jerome Doraisamy is the editor of Lawyers Weekly. A former lawyer, he has worked at Momentum Media as a journalist on Lawyers Weekly since February 2018, and has served as editor since March 2022. He is also the host of all five shows under The Lawyers Weekly Podcast Network, and has overseen the brand's audio medium growth from 4,000 downloads per month to over 60,000 downloads per month, making The Lawyers Weekly Show the most popular industry-specific podcast in Australia. Jerome is also the author of The Wellness Doctrines book series, an admitted solicitor in NSW, and a board director of Minds Count.
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