A group of Nisa Today’s shareholders have spoken out against the grocery cooperative’s GBP200m (US$376.55m) merger with Costcutter, the convenience store operator.
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Nisa Today’s is a buying cooperative made up of 905 wholesalers and retailers who collectively own 5,000 shops. Its members are all shareholders.
The merger, which Nisa and Costcutter management claim would give the new group enough buying power to compete with the UK’s ‘big four’ supermarkets, would see the organisation demutualised.
The Nisa Members’ Association claims to have sufficient voting power to block the merger, which, it says, is currently opposed by around 30% of Nisa Today’s shareholder-members.
Opponents of the deal claim that the group’s management has a vested financial interest in seeing it completed, as they stand to gain a considerable stake in the combined business. For example, an incentive package associated with the deal reportedly offers Dudley Ramsden, chairman of Nisa, a 10% stake if the merger goes ahead.
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By GlobalDataEach shopkeeper would receive a windfall of GBP50,000, but many feel that this would be insufficient compensation while others feel that they do not have enough information to allow the merger to go ahead.
Nisa management today (2 June) issued a statement which read: “Once due diligence is complete we are committed to ensuring members have all the details they need to make an informed decision.” A period of detailed consultation with all members will follow, the company added.
