The High Court has been told Jefferson Smurfit Group is not expecting any opposition from shareholders or creditors to a €3.4 billion takeover deal by Madison Dearborn Partners.
Mr Bill Shipsey, SC, counsel for the group, told Mr Justice Michael Peart today that members had voted with their feet in favour of reducing share capital by ten million 30 cent ordinary shares to facilitate the takeover.
He said that at an EGM on July 29th, 99.6 per cent of shareholders either in person or by proxy had voted in favour of the Madison Dearborn takeover offer, which could not become effective until the court sanctioned the scheme.
Judge Peart fixed August 27th for the hearing of the Group's Petition for the reduction of the company's capital and directed, since the company had subsidiaries all over the world, that it be advertised in the Financial Timesand the Wall Street Journalas well as Irish newspapers.
Mr Shipsey also successfully applied for a direction dispensing with a Companies Act requirement to produce a list of creditors.
He said the company’s creditors consisted mainly of special advisers who were owed €1.284 million. The company had received €5 million as part-payment of an inter-company loan and there was more than enough cash in the bank to meet these demands.