Take-over of Overseas Trading Corporation

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33579, 6 July 1974, Page 17

Take-over of Overseas Trading Corporation

' CHI. Prest Association) AUCKLAND. The Overseas Trading Corporation has been taken over by the Government’s own tradepromoting agency, the Export-Import Corpora- i tion. The announcement; was made in Auckland today by the chairman j of O.T.C. (Mr L. J. Fisher). Mr Fisher also said he has ' resigned as chairman 1 because O.T.C. had achieved

its objective of being a> profitable organisation, cap-i able of generating export! earnings. In a letter to the share-: ■holders, Mr Fisher said the Export-Import Corporation I made a bid for control of; O.T.C. early in June, and; ;had bought sufficient large ’blocks of shares to gain conItrol. [ The letter does not say i which members of O.T.C. Isold out to the Government, ior the price paid. But the i Export-Import Corporation is prepared to buy up the remaining $lOO for $75 each. I Mr Fisher said the O.T.C. board did not consider this to be a fair price, but would not try ft influence the remaining shareholders whether they should sell. A Government take-over of O.T.C. was expected after the Export-Import Corpo-; j ration was established to . assist New Zealand trade. O.T.C. has about 80 individual and corporate shareholders, including such large companies as U.E.8., A.H.1., N.Z. Forest Products, South British Insurance, New Zealand Insurance, and Fisher and Paykel. The Government was also a substantial original shareholder through its Development Finance Corporation. O.T.C. experienced difficulties after its formation, and had a loss of $lB,OOO in the 1972-73 year. But it turned this into a $25,141 profit a year later. Mr Fisher estimates earnings will be $60,000 this year.

The company concentrated on markets in the Pacific and South-East Asia, and established offices in Singapore, New Caledonia, and Fiji.