Doesn't really make any difference to the strength or otherwise of the argument to be had in the high court commencing 23 November 2020, in my opinion.
I note in the learned Judge's opinion it will be unrealistic of the parties to expect a judgement before the end of January 2021. (certain to be a reserved decision for very careful consideration) because the case involves complex legal, economic and accounting matters. I would therefore not expect a judgement until February 2021. The chances of the decision being appealed should not be overlooked and the additional timeframe and costs involved needs to be considered too.
An appeal to the Court of appeal and by the time it takes for them to make their reserved decision could eat up most or all of 2021 and then there's still the possibility of another appeal to the Supreme court going well into 2022 and in all this time if MET are trying to get them to agree to the takeover they have to continue to run the company in accordance with the terms and conditions specified within the scheme implementation agreement which means no dividends. So, all accrued earnings right through to potentially even as late as sometime in 2023 could flow through to EQT as part of their $7 acquisition. Don't you just "love" the legal system :rolleyes:
I will have some hard questions for the legal advisors and directors at the forthcoming meeting. Is there any chance of a settlement at a lower price is one question I will be asking. I want to know an estimated timeframe if this gets appealed all the way to the Supreme Court and some idea of costs. I am starting to wonder if its worth it to be quite honest about it. If earnings for the next two years are going to disappear in legal costs is there any point ?