Chelsfield has already set a pricing precedent in its negotiations with retail entrepreneur Richard Caring. When the company accepted his offer of euro 160.9 million ($197.6 million) they stated any other offer would have to be at least 10% higher.
Quinn is also critical of the treatment of minority shareholders in Wentworth. Shareholders such as the hotelier Surinder Arora and newspaper proprietor Eddie Shah have pre-emption rights attached to their holdings allowing them to match any bids accepted by Chelsfield. But the company has still to accept their offers.
The row over the bidding process has become increasingly nasty. Arora confirmed that minority shareholders had consulted lawyers about whether Caring's bid should have been accepted by Chelsfield. To make matters worse, Shah is reported in one of today's newspapers as questioning whether lawyers acting for Chelsfield have a conflict of interest.
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