Tesco’s £156 million offer for garden centre chain Dobbies has been accepted. However, despite having formal control, the grocer faces continued opposition from minority shareholder Sir Tom Hunter.
The supermarket chain received acceptance of 53.1 per cent of shares on Friday ahead of the Sunday deadline.
Last week, Hunter raised his stake in the garden centre chain from 27.66 per cent to 28.58 per cent by buying an extra 100,000 shares.
The Scottish billionaire will wield a powerful influence at Dobbies and it is unlikely that Tesco will be able to delist the garden centre group’s shares.
Seymour Pierce analyst Richard Ratner believes Hunter’s primary motive was to protect his investments in rival garden centre groups Wyevale and Blooms and that he could block any plans for big expansion of Dobbies.
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