Alleged Move To Block Flotation Of Company

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30480, 30 June 1964, Page 1

Alleged Move To Block Flotation Of Company

The motive of a firm which had influenced the withdrawal of a director from the board of Coast Concrete, Ltd., would have been only to compromise-the company’s flotation in the minds of the investing public, Mr A. H. McMaster, a director of Coast Concrete, said yesterday.

In a statement yesterday Mr R. C. Neville announced that he had withdrawn his name as a proposed director of the new company.

Coast Concrete is seeking £lOO,OOO to establish a concrete manufacturing industry at Greymouth.

“The resignation of Mr Neville is not because of any conflict of opinion among the directors,” said Mr McMaster. “We know that a firm, which would have good reason to regard our company as serious competition, has been exercising its influence to have Mr Neville withdraw from Coast Concrete.

“We can only conclude that the motive has been to compromise our flotation in the minds of the investing public. “Since we went on the market at the beginning of June, it has been blatantly brought to our notice, both here in

Christchurch and on the West Coast, that there is one firm in the particular field in which we are also interested that does not want to see us set up a plant on the Coast,” he continued. “While we readily appreciate that an established firm will inevitably have certain

fears and misgivings when a new one attempts to obtain a share of its market, my fel-low-directors and 1 feel that the efforts which have been taken in recent weeks to curtail the development of our company can hardly be regarded as being within the spirit of healthy business competition. “The situation is all the more unpleasant considering that we are trying to establish a needed and worth-while industry in an area which by Government and general consent sorely needs new industry.

“The fact that our flotation has aroused this particular and rather unwelcome interest illustrates a consciousness of a need for concrete products on the Coast. “We have every intention of continuing," Mr McMaster added.