I am the widower of a pharmacist and when my wife died I inherited her Unichem shares. The remnants of that shareholding are now held as guaranteed unsecured loan notes in AB acquisitions. I am sure there are many pharmacists in the same position as me. AB acquisitions are seeking to convert these into fixed interest unguaranteed unsecured loan notes. Today, I attended a very poorly attended meeting of note holders at which the matter was due to be voted on. As it happened the meeting was not quorate so a further meeting is to be held on 7 August - for which there will be no minimum quorum.
If the proposed change goes ahead there is a very real risk that the capital might not be repaid and even that the relatively modest fixed interest might also be at risk. I'm sure I am not the only person concerned by what looks like an attempt by hedge fund managers to wriggle out of their obligations. However it is not too late to take action, a 75% vote is required to pass the proposal and clearly there were fewer than 50% of eligible proxies received by today (otherwise the meeting would have been quorate). May I remind any pharmacists out there with similar concerns to mine that it is important that they complete their proxy votes in time for the 7 August meeting. Otherwise if the proposal is accepted their choice will be between withdrawing their money immediately with a potential capital gains tax hit or risking losing the capital. I am writing here because I have not found any forum discussing this proposal and I know it to likely to be of interest to a number of former Unichem members.
Richard Walton
