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Frasers Group is seeking approval for owner Mike Ashley to cash in on £585m of shares which could be bought by the company in a private deal, according to reports from The Guardian.
Under the plan, the group said it wanted permission from shareholders to buy back the shares privately from Ashley, in one or several transactions, at the market price at the time.
The company said its directors “will only exercise the power to conduct off-market purchases if they conclude at the relevant time it is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders as a whole”.
Ashley, founder of Sports Direct, is the retail group’s largest shareholder, currently holding a 73% stake.
Although he could sell a 15% stake in the company, the proposed buyback scheme would result in the cancellation of 67.5m shares.
If the company were to buy all his shares privately Ashley would not only receive a cash payout but his stake would only reduce to 68%.
In the statement to the stock market, Frasers said: “The directors will only exercise the power to conduct off-market purchases if they conclude at the relevant time it is in the best interests of the company and its shareholders as a whole.”
