Eddie Stobart gets early buyout interest from investor DBAY Advisors

(Reuters) - Eddie Stobart Logistics Plc <ESLE.L> said on Monday its third largest shareholder DBAY Advisors Limited has made a preliminary expression of interest to buy the firm, which has been grappling with issues that have led to a shake-up of the top level management.

The news follows the departure of Chief Executive Officer Alex Laffey and suspension of trading last month after it failed to publish its half-year results in time.

The company, whose largest shareholder is troubled fund manager Neil Woodford, had decided to review its dividend policy and said it would publish the first-half results in early September, with its adjusted operating profit likely to be significantly lower than anticipated.

The logistics company said in July that a review of its previous statements under new Chief Financial Officer Anoop Kangits found that 2018 adjusted operating profit was overstated by about 2 million pounds.

DBAY Advisors Limited owns about 10.11% stake in the logistics group, whose brands include biForce, Logistics People and Speedy Freight, according to data from Refinitiv Eikon.

Eddie Stobart has a market value of about 270.4 million pounds.

(This story has been refiled to corrects syntax in paragraph 1).

(Reporting by Yadarisa Shabong in Bengaluru; Editing by Arun Koyyur)