Green light for issue of new shares in Dale
Significant step in safeguarding club from hostile takeover as shareholders approve resolution
ROCHDALE AFC shareholders voted in favour of the club’s resolution to issue new shares at an Extraordinary General Meeting this week.
In a meeting in the Ratcliffe Suite that lasted just a matter of minutes, shareholders gave their approval to the club to issue 400,000 new shares in the Football Club.
The club and its supporters have been fighting to stave off hostile takeover bids for several months and the share issue – giving fans the chance to invest in the club – is widely viewed as Dale’s best bet of remaining fan-owned.
After Andy Curran and Darrel Rose’s Morton House MGT group withdrew their interest in acquiring a controlling stake in the club, former Charlton Athletic chairman Matt Southall agreed to purchase their shares.
Southall met with the Dale Supporters Trust last week over a Zoom call to discuss his thoughts on the club, whilst the Trust shared their own views on the prospect of him getting involved at the club.
A statement on the Trust’s website said: “We said to Southall that Andrew Curran had caused a lot of concern to both the fanbase and shareholders due to his lack of digital footprint that had led to supporters making their own minds up.
“He asked how we would feel had he owned the Club, and then in twelve months’ time he’d not took a penny out of the Club and everything was running well. We stated this was a gamble that our shareholders would not be prepared to take, especially to someone with his track record in football. He replied saying that it wasn’t his track record, but it was a perception of things that had been written about him.
“We followed up stating that it wasn’t even just about him – it was about being happy with the model of ownership that we have. We said that because of this, we were probably one of the most sustainable clubs in the country and doing it our way had led to the most successful time in our history.”
Against this backdrop, club directors wrote to shareholders to call an EGM last month to ask for their support on the share resolution.
The club announced: “That, in accordance with section 551 of the Companies Act 2006, the directors of the Company (Directors) be generally and unconditionally authorised to allot shares in the Company up to an aggregate nominal amount of £198,521.50 (397,043 shares) provided that – a) this authority shall, unless renewed, varied or revoked by the Company, expire at not less than 5 years from the date this resolution is passed; and
b) all shares allotted pursuant to the authorisation hereby conferred shall be so allotted at no less than £2 per share.”
Faced with the prospect of his per-centage shareholding being diluted by the share issue, Mr Southall wrote to the club last week asking them to cancel Wednesday’s EGM.
However, the EGM went ahead as planned in midweek with shareholders almost unanimously backing chairman Simon
Gauge and the Dale board in their bid to safeguard the club’s future.
A statement on the Dale Supporters Trust website said: “The vote was almost unanimous with all but one shareholder voting in favour of the Club’s proposal. This mirrors the Trust Ballot where 98.6% of those voting did so backing the Club’s resolution.
“Whilst no one will be popping open the Champagne just yet, it is another vital step towards safeguarding the future of the Football Club and ensuring that it remains in the hands of people who have the best interests of the Football Club at heart.”