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QPR1st October 28, 2007 - QPR1st statement regarding the recent share offer
1. QPR 1st will not sell the 500 shares it owns unless forced to do so. The trust believes that it is important to maintain a level of accountability from the club to its supporters. If the club becomes wholly owned by Sarita there will be no obligation to make accounts available, no AGM, and no opportunity to discuss our club with the current owners.
2. We do still believe in the value and influence of the Sharebank scheme that the trust administers. We encourage shareholders to keep their shares with Sharebank. It is a great shame that we were never able to reach our goal of 25 per cent of shares held by Sharebank as this would have provided the ability to block an attempt to take the club private.
3. The majority of shares held in Sharebank are owned by individual fans and if requested we will transfer the shares back to the individuals who donated them. As for the offer made by Sarita, it is for 1p a share, obviously most shareholders have lost a great deal of money since the initial share issue. However, it is for each individual to decide whether he or she sells their shares or not.
4. Under Stock Exchange rules if one shareholder controls 75 per cent of the total share issue then that shareholder has to make an offer for the remaining shares. If they subsequently reach 90 per cent of the total share issue then they can force the sale of the shares. Despite not having traded on the London Stock Exchange for over 6 years, formerly quoted companies, like QPR holdings, are subject to Stock Exchange rules for 10 years after delisting.
5. QPR 1st believes that it is in the best interests of the club for fans to have the ability to retain a financial investment in an organisation in which they invest so much time, money, and emotion each week. We would therefore hope that the new owners will stop short of their aim to own the entire share issue of the club. We make it clear that we welcome the new ownership that has brought much needed stability to the club and do not wish to obstruct the takeover. We do not recommend that small shareholders sell their shares. Given the vast differences in shareholdings we do not see that this will be a problem to Sarita, but does give the fans the opportunity to question and scrutinize the actions of the board. QPR1st
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