Vacuum cleaner retailer Godfreys has urged shareholders take no action following a bid by the company’s cofounder – 99 year old John Johnston – to acquire all of the company’s shares at a price of $0.32 per share.

If successful, Godfreys will be removed from the Australian Securities Exchange and returned to private ownership under Johnston.

Johnston, who first launched Godfreys in 1936 with Godfrey Cohen in Melbourne, is offering 32 cents a share in an all-cash bid that values the business at about $13 million.

The bid represents a 49 per cent premium for the stock – which on Monday 9 April was at an all-time low of 21 cents. Johnston is making the bid through a family-owned company, Arcade Finance, which holds 28 per cent of Godfreys.

In a statement to the ASX on Tuesday 10 April, Godfreys said that it will carefully consider the proposal by Arcade and will be appointing an independent expert to provide an opinion as to whether the offer is fair and reasonable.

“The directors will keep shareholders informed of any further developments and will continue to act in shareholders’ best interests to maximise the value attainable from any transaction,” said Godfreys.