Comalco Issue Price 50c At 275c

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32251, 20 March 1970, Page 10

Comalco Issue Price 50c At 275c

The new share issue of Comalco Industries, Proprietary, Ltd—announced previously—will be made under the company’s new name: Comalco, Ltd. The company is expected to be converted to a public company next week. •

Comalco—half owned by Conzinc Riotinto of Australia, Ltd, and half by the Kaiser Aluminium and Chemical Corporation of the United States —is building an aluminium smelter works at Bluff.

More details of the issue of 13,000,000 new shares, of 50c per value, were released by the chairman of Comalco (Mr D. Y. Hibberd) yesterday. The shares will be issued at a price of 275 c, payable 140 c a share on application and the balance of 135 c on March 31, 1971—0 r, at the option of the applicant, in full on application. It is expected that the prospectus will be issued on April 16. lan Potter and Company, members of the Stock Ex-

> change of Melbourne, have f been appointed underwriters I for the issue and, subject to > a priority of application re- . served for C.R.A. shareholders, the issue has been taken I firm by the underwriters. . The issue is being made i primarily to assist in providi ing funds for group expan- , sion and to enable members i of the public in Australia and New Zealand to acquire a . share interest in Comalco. I An amount of 1,000,000 shares is being reserved by ’ the underwriters for residents of New Zealand and will be made available through their New Zealand associates, Daysh Renouf and Company. The public shareholders of C.R.A. will receive a priority of application in the issue. [ Under this priority, C.R.A. shareholders (excluding C.R.A. Holdings, Pty, Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Rio Tinto-Zinc Corporation, Ltd) with addresses ini Australia, New Zealand or the territory of Papua and! New Guinea will be entitled, [ until 4 p.m. on April 30, to apply for shares on the basis) of one Comalco share fori I every six shares in C.R.A. | (fractions being disregarded) registered in their names as! at 3 p.m. on April 3. [ This priority of application; accorded to C.R.A. shareholdlers is not transferable or re-; [nounceable. I Upon completion of the!

issue, the shareholdings in Comalco will be: Conzinc Riotinto of Australia, Ltd, 45 per cent; Kaiser Aluminium and Chemical Corporation, 45 per cent; public shareholders, 10 per cent. A large number of the 1,000,000 Comalco shares reserved for residents of New Zealand will be available for application by non-sharehold-ers of Conzinc Riotinto of Australia, a Comalco spokesman said last night. Although C.R.A. shareholders have a priority of application under the terms of the issue,, there are only about 750 C.R.A. shareholders in this country, he said.

The New Zealand holding in the company will be 0.77 per cent.