Let me say this for myself.
Firstly, anyone who had held Ralli or Bowater for any length of time, and who had followed my advice, made a profit. No one needs reminding that no profit is made until it is taken, and Jim Slater, hardly an abandoned waster, took cash for a large part of his holdings at the price then ruling. Following my remarks there was the mysterious decision by Trafalgar House to counter bid at a very high price and with what turned out to be little chance of success; but it forced the price of Ralli and Bowater up.
There was always a high degree of risk of the deal failing, and it may well have been referred to the Monopolies Commission and consequently delayed. I hold that my view was correct in the light of the information then available — that Ralli, though a fine share, was a sell on October 6 and profits should have been taken as they were by Mr Read Wilson. There is still a reasonable chance of getting in at a lower price later.
Slater Walker is the share I then recommended at 242, and it is now only 251 in spite of the huge profits they are earning, apparently from activities like the Ralli-Bowater merger. The sluggishness of the Slater share price is, one is told, due to the size of the capitalisation. If this is so, the upside potential for Ralli-Bowater must be limited since their own capitalisation is now larger than Slater Walker's (though brokers' letters will be using words like 'synergy' and so on). The story is not over, Mr Read Wilson — hold on to the profit you have already made and be patient.
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