Merger now official

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 33963, 2 October 1975, Page 1

Merger now official

The New Zealand Refrigerating Company, Ltd, and Waitaki Industries, Ltd, have now officially merged. AU offers made on August 14 have been declared unconditional.

The new company will be the largest registered in the South Island, and the largest New Zealandowned company in the industry.

It will handle about 25 per cent of all meat processed in the country.

It will be about fifth largest in New Zealand in terms of issued capital — after N.Z. Forest Products, Wattie Industries, Fletcher Holdings, and Challenge Corporation, in that order — and will rank about eighth in terms of shareholders’ funds — after

Forest Products, Fletcher, Wattie’s, Challenge Corporation, Tasman Pulp and Paper, New Zealand Breweries, and Feltex New Zealand, Ltd. If the combined profit reaches ssm< this year, as has been forecast, the newly-merged company would rank eighth in profitability — after Forest Products, Fletcher, Wattie’s, Alex Harvey Industries, Feltex, Challenge and U.E.B. The New Zealand Refrigerating Company is proceeding with the one-for-five bonus share issue, in terms of the merger; the shares will go ex bonus today. In a statement to the Stock Exchange yesterday, the chairman of N.Z. Refrigerating (Mr C. S. Peate) said: “The holders of 12,261,945 shares in Waitaki Industries, Ltd, being 76.76 per cent of the issued capital, and the holders of 556,502 secured convertible notes, being 77.40 per cent of the 8 per cent secured convertible note issue, have accepted the merger offer made to them by N.Z.R. - “All offers made pursuant to the merger terms of August 14, 1975, are now declared unconditional. Under section 9 of the Companies Amendment Act, 1963, the time for acceptance of the merger offer of August 14, 1975, is extended to December 1, 1975.”