§ Harry CohenTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what is her estimate of the value of shares which privatised companies were given the power to obtain compulsorily but which the shareholder refused to sell since 1991; what has happened to those shares and what the arrangements are under which they are held; what plans the Government have to end this compulsion element; and if she will make a statement. [2721]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonNo figures relating to the value of shares in privatised companies which have been compulsorily purchased under the terms of the Companies Act 1985 are readily available and any estimate of the value could only be ascertained at disproportionate cost. Shareholders who have refused to sell shares which have been subject to a compulsory purchase notice will have had their shares transferred to the purchaser and the money to buy the shares held in trust until it is paid over to them.
The compulsory purchase of shares has been considered by the Company Law Review. The Review's conclusions will be set out in its final report which is due to be published in the summer.