Victoria Carpets – which has been at the centre of a bitter boardroom battle in recent weeks – has suspended its sale process after potential buyers expressed concerns about an activist investor looking to replace the board.
Victoria, which makes carpets and carpet tiles, said it would suspend the sale process until after a general meeting called by an investor group led by Alexander Anton.
In December, Mr Anton, a member of the company’s founding family, had sought a general meeting to replace four directors and gain majority control of the board.
In a statement, Victoria, which had put itself up for sale in January, said it received conditional indicative offers, some of which it would have recommended to shareholders.
It said: “Certain shareholders expressed the preference of having the option of realising their investment in the company in the short term. In line with its duty to act in a way which it considers would be most likely to promote the success of the company for the benefit of shareholders as a whole, the Board placed the company and its operating businesses into the formal sales process announced on January 13, 2012, so that shareholders could have a real choice.
“Of course, the company can only be sold by shareholders agreeing to accept an offer for their shares.”
The company said it had convened a general meeting for March 6 and advised shareholders to vote against the investor group.
