Solomon Lew says he has no current plans to launch a takeover for Myer

Solomon Lew’s Premier has ‘no current intention’ of making a bid for Myer, as it again demanded a trading update.

This week Mr Lew demanded Myer delay its AGM, so he and the planned nominees he wants to parachute on to the Myer board can properly assess its performance. Picture: Andrew Henshaw

Solomon Lew’s Premier Investments says it has “no current intention” of making a takeover for 121-year-old department store owner Myer, as it again pushes for the retailer to update the market on its financial results.

In an escalation of the looming war between the billionaire retailer and Myer, the department store hit back, arguing in its own statement that Mr Lew’s Premier Investments was ignoring good corporate governance as well as Myer’s constitution, and was potentially denying all other shareholders a takeover premium as he sought to control the Myer board through his own nominees.

Myer also stung Mr Lew’s ongoing tactics, saying it would not compromise good corporate governance to suit someone else’s agenda.

Premier Investments, which is Myer’s biggest shareholder with a stake of 15.77 per cent, released a statement on Thursday in response to reports that Myer had hired a defence adviser, Luminis. Such a step is usually taken by a company when it believes it is about to be the target of a takeover offer.

“Premier Investments Limited notes press articles relating to Myer Limited’s appointment of ‘defence’ advisers,” it said.

“Premier advises that it has no current intention of launching a takeover offer for Myer.”

Mr Lew has been stalking Myer since 2017, when his Premier Investments fashion empire seized a 10.77 per cent stake in the business and then last month upped that stake to 15.77 per cent.

He has since ratcheted up the pressure on the Myer board and its acting chairwoman, JoAnne Stephenson, to release a trading update, given its financial year ended at the end of July and many other ASX-listed retailers had provided a trading update.

This week Mr Lew demanded Myer delay its AGM, so he and the planned nominees he wants to parachute on to the Myer board can properly assess its performance. On Thursday, Mr Lew and Premier further pushed Myer to update the market.

Solomon Lew has recently ratcheted up pressure on the Myer board. Picture: Aaron Francis

“Premier also acknowledges that Myer has confirmed that it is ‘fully aware of its continuous disclosure obligations’,” Premier said.

“According to Bloomberg, analyst consensus for fiscal 2021 has net income for Myer of $33.5m. In fiscal 2020, Myer reported a statutory net loss after tax of $172.4m.

“Does the Myer board consider that Bloomberg consensus reflects the benchmark for updating the market or do they look to the $172.4m loss from fiscal 2020 as the relevant benchmark?”

Mr Lew said all shareholders deserved to know Myer’s recent trading performance.

“All Myer shareholders will remain in the dark until the Myer board does what Premier and the vast majority of other retailers have done and update the market as a matter of urgency,” he said.

Myer joined the battle of the press releases on Thursday.

“Premier Investments today confirmed that despite wanting to fill the Myer board with their nominees it ‘has no current intention of launching a takeover offer for Myer’. Given previous Premier statements other shareholders have questioned whether Premier wants control of the Myer board without paying a premium to all shareholders,” Myer said.

“We have a shareholder who holds 15.77 per cent of the company who is seeking to replace the board with their own unnamed nominees and is ignoring good corporate governance and the company’s constitution to achieve its aims.

“That leaves the other 84.23 per cent shareholders potentially denied a takeover premium.

“The Myer board will maintain good corporate governance and not compromise it to suit someone else’s agenda. We yet again call on Premier to name their nominees and put them through the appropriate constitutional process and have all shareholders have an opportunity to express their views at Myer’s AGM.”

Myer said it would update the market as and when appropriate.

There was no indication when Myer would announce if it had found a chairman, with its former chairman Garry Hounsell quitting before last year’s AGM.