Company News REID MURRAY TAKEOVER

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29173, 6 April 1960, Page 23

Company News REID MURRAY TAKEOVER

£518,000 Bid For Property Firm (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) MELBOURNE, April 5. ' Reid Murray Holdings, Ltd., credit retailer, wholesaler and land developer, han made a takeover offer worth about £518,000 for Property ' Improvement Acceptance Company, Ltd., building finance company. Esanda, Ltd., hire purchase subsidiary of the English, Scottish and Australian Bank has a 40 per cent, shareholding in P.I.A. Directors of P.I.A. recommend acceptance of the Reid Murray offer. Esanda, Ltd., will accept the offer for its shareholders. The bid is six Reid Murray 5s ordinary shares plus 2s cash for each P.I.A. £1 ordinary share, and two Reid Murray ordinaries for each P.I.A. £1 preference share. This equals about 97s for each of P.I.A. 102,700 ordinary shares and 31s 8d for each 11,850 prefs. Growth in Six Years P.I.A. was founded in 1954 by Mr G. A. Bellmaine and Mr J. Redrup, to finance and service fixed improvements to properties. In six years it has grown into a multi-million business in two states. P.I.A. will continue to trade under its own name as part of the Reid Murray group and under the management of Messrs Bellmaine and Redrup. Mr K. N. Wilkinson, the assistant managing director of Reid Murray, said today that P.I.A. had founded the property improvement industry in Australia. He said it was equipped to embark on a vigorous expansion in all states.