share dealing

[jmmymac12]

Hi folks I have a coule of issues that have raised themselves and i would like to bend your ear about them i will deal with them one at a time

1. I Purchased shares about 10 years ago in an american company I spent approx 1000 pounds at the time for them and like most shares bought at the time they flopped.They are an american company and i bought them through my local bak and therefore through goodbodys.I never paid much heed to them until about two months ago when i recieved a letter from my bank, from goodbodys saying that somebody was looking to buy my shares.If i wanted to sell i was to reply but if i wanted to keep the shares i was not to reply.As they are only worth 200 dollars roughly i decided to hold on to them and therefore i did not reply.I thought no more about it until today when i recieved a cheque in the post for 207 dollars. I rang goodbodys and they say that because the majority decided to sell that i have no option and they sold them for me.It seems that i have no rights in regard to this.Can you advise me if this correct or can i get my shares back as i never agreed to sell in the first place.Thanks in advance for any help that you can give regards james

2. My next issue concerns a letter that i recieved from irish life , my chosen pension company.When i started my pension about 5 years ago i was told that the charges on my account were 1 %..I have recieved a letter today to say that there was a mistake in a document that i recieved from them last year in which there was a section entitled information on charges.In it it stated that there will be no upfront charges on regular contributions single contributions or transfer value contributions paid in .Today they tell me that this is a mistake that the carge is 5% and that i was being charged it all along. can anyone help me on either issue rgds james

 

[bosra]

James
On your first question.. There are takeover and merger codes that govern the markets in this respect..the acquirer company just has to convince a certain percentage (a majority) to sell their shares. Then the offer becomes binding and the rest of the minority shareholders must submit their shares... It sounds to me that your case resembles above and you are left with no option but to sell..Which Goodbody did on your behalf..

 

[WaterSprite]

Again on your first question - the relevant articles of association of a company will dictate the means by which a certain percentage of the shareholders of a company can decide to sell the company, even if 100% of shareholders don't agree. The most common percentage I have seen is 80% - so if 80% of the shareholders (i.e. holders of 80% of the shares) vote to accept an acquisition offer, the other shareholders can be "dragged" along in the sale. I would be surprised if Goodbodys didn't mention that in the letter they sent to you but sometimes nominee holders (like Goodbodys can be) don't pass along the full documentation that they would have received from the company as the registered shareholder. If the sale went through with the requisite percentage approval from the shareholders, there is nothing you can do to get your shares back.

Sprite