Myer family will keep small stake after float

The Myer family will hold just 1% of the Myer department store chain after it floats on the Australia Securities Exchange early next month.

Speculation has been building about whether the Myer Family Company, which currently holds 41.8 million shares in the company on behalf of Myer family members and a group of non-family investors (many high-net worth individuals who invest money with the Myer Family Office) would retain any of its shares when Myer floats on November 2.

But in a statement last night, the Myer Family Company confirmed it will retain 6.5 million shares after the float and also exchange 54,279 notes it holds for shares.

Myer family members – including Myer Family Company boss Rupert Myer – will also own shares in their own right.

The Myer Family Company’s announcement should go some way to placating institutional investors who had been concerned that private equity firm TPG and the Myer family would use the float to sell out of the company completely.

The joint lead managers to the float have set an indicative share price range of $3.90 to $4.90.

Taking the lower level, those values means the Myer Family Company will raise $137.7 million from the float, and retain a stake worth just over $25 million.

The Myer Family Company also owns a 33% stake in Myer’s flagship Melbourne store.

According to BRW magazine’s Rich 200 list, the Myer family’s fortune is $1.5 billion.