Underwriters Left With Nearly 600 Million Bradford And Bingley Shares
News that the underwriters of the controversial Bradford and Bingley £400 million fund raising have been left with 72% of the shares issued does not bode well for the short term performance of the shares. As these underwriters will be looking to sell their shares on as soon as possible there will affectively be an overhang of shares in the market place.
While the 28% takeup was better than some of the recent fund raising exercises it is not exactly a vote of confidence for the current management. There are also very strong rumours that the group may well be the subject of a takeover offer very soon, something which makes the highly lucrative contract for former Alliance and Leicester boss Richard Pym all the more strange. While he may well be able to turn the group around if given time, he is more likely to benefit from clauses in his contract which will reward him very heavily if the company is taken over - a reward for the former managements poor track record?
Whatever happens to Bradford and Bingley it seems that we have not yet seen the end of the controversy.
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