“Are you surprised, Chief Okrika? What did your fellow sharks tell you? You were all mistaken if you thought I would fall for your tricks and money offers. My family has owned Bestman Group shares for several years now and when I heard news of the takeover, I had to make up my mind which side to vote or sell to. A study of the accounts and reports show that the company has performed excellently especially in the last few years since Edward Bestman and his team took over. Why then should I shift my loyalty?”
Edward smiled down at her in total gratitude. His insides did back flips with the knowledge that he‘d pull out of this more easily than he thought. He had no idea she owned Bestman shares or that she would be here. Once in the States, he‘d sent Gladys a stilted email saying how sorry he was and that he would see her when he got back. His schedule the past two weeks had been so tight that he‘d not had time follow up. Love for her swelled his heart now. It wasn‘t far-fetched to believe that she was behind this.
Edward called the meeting to order again. By the time Benibo, Mrs. Olayomi and Mr. Odili followed suit with their votes, he was smiling widely. He felt like thumping his chest in victory. He‘d gotten close to sixty percent of the votes.
“We move on to the last item, item seven, for the management board to have Bestman Group acquire its own shares for a period of eighteen months from September 2008 until February 2010.” Edward looked straight at Mr. Odusote as he spoke and put on his meanest smile as the broker‘s jaw fell.
“The proposal is to acquire shares both at the stock exchange and from shareholders who directly hold Bestman shares. This would be up to a maximum of thirty percent of issued share capital and for a price of approximately the stock exchange price with no margin. The stock exchange price means the average of the closing price of shares according to the Official Price List of NSE on the five consecutive trading days immediately preceding the date of purchase.”
“Mr. Odusote jumped up. “That is illegal!” He began to sputter. “My…I…idea…I…”
Edward cut him off. Of course he recalled the first time the broker had brought the proposal almost a year ago. It even made this more of a pleasure to rub it in his face. “The management is already working with the SEC on amendment of the law on share buy-back by public limited companies, and the enabling rules will be ready by the proposed date.”