Arguments advanced by Blue Call
44 To place the submissions of Blue Call in context, I have repeated the following relevant events.
45 Since the Court approved the despatch of the scheme booklet and convened a meeting to take place on 6 May 2015:
(a) Amcom adjourned the 6 May 2015 meeting to 18 May 2015;
(b) on 14 May 2015, Vocus, the acquiring company in the Scheme, divested its 10% interest in the target, Amcom, to third parties who, unlike Vocus, may vote at the Scheme Meeting, according to the release to the ASX, this had been done 'to give the merger the best chance of success';
(c) on 18 May 2015, Amcom again adjourned the meeting, this time to a date to be announced;
(d) on 20 May 2015, Amcom's current application before the Court was filed; and importantly,
(e) since the Scheme was announced, TPG, which opposes the Scheme, has acquired some 19.9% of the shares in Amcom.
46 Blue Call raises the following topics of concern about the orders sought:
(a) the need to 'tag' (i.e. identify separately) the votes of:
(i) Mr Tony Grist;
(ii) the parties to whom Vocus has divested its interest in Amcom;
(iii) shareholders of Amcom who are also shareholders of Vocus;
(iv) Commonwealth Bank of Australia (and related bodies);
(b) the proposal that online votes and proxies that have already been received stand unless the shareholder takes the positive step of changing their vote or proxy;
(c) the proposed change to the date for eligibility to vote for the Scheme Meeting, in circumstances where:
(i) online voting has already occurred;
(ii) proxies have been received; and
(iii) the share register has changed since the scheme booklet was dispatched, and since the first supplementary disclosure was dispatched.
47 Blue Call point out that there is a high likelihood that any vote at the Scheme Meeting, if it passes at all, may only pass the statutory thresholds by a slim margin. For this reason, the conduct of the poll and the receipt, counting, recording and collation of votes are important.