COMMERCIAL First-come, first-served offer for A.B. Consol.

Press, Volume CXVI, Issue 34138, 27 April 1976, Page 26

COMMERCIAL First-come, first-served offer for A.B. Consol.

\. S. Paterson and Company. Ltd. will make a “first-come, firstserved offer" for a substantial chargeholding in A. B. Consolidated Holdings. Ltd, said the chairman .Mr A. S. Paterson) in Christchurch yesterday.

A. S. Paterson is offering 50c a share in cash. The prime objective is 2.6 m shares, which is 33.31 per cent of A.B. Consolidated's ordinary issued capital. “The offer is conditional upon receiving acceptances for a minimum of 1.95 m shares which is about 25 per cent of the issued ordinary capital. •‘lf offers are received for mure than 2.6 m shares A. S. Paterson shall give favourable consideration to accepting the excess up to a maximum of 3.8 m shares. This upper limit represents about 49 per cent.” Mr Paterson said. The offer will be open for acceptance until May 18, or such later date as A. S. Paterson may determine. The

latest date the offer may be considered unconditional is .[June 25. : I “A. S. Paterson has rejeeived approval from the Minister of Trade and Industry (Mr Adams-Schneider) to IJ make this offer, as required .under the Commerce Act 111975. The take-over provijsions prescribed by the Companies Amendment Act 1963 [ do not apply in this case, bei cause the company is not .! seeking a controlling inter- • est.” he said. A major proportion of A. ■ S. Paterson’s interests is in i food manufacturing, and the : recently completed withi drawa! from wholesale I grocery will provide consideri able funds for reinvestment, ■I.Mr Paterson said. I Mr Paterson said he saw ■I the biscuit industry as a

logical extension of A S. Paterson’s present activities, and that A.B. Consolidated w-as the only company in the biscuit industry to have a substantial New Zealand shareholding. Its performance over the years has not been impressive and in A. S. Paterson’s view it has been losing ground to its overseas owned and controlled competitors. Mr Paterson said his company would like to reverse this trend, but at the same time, it did not have “magic formula” to turn losses into profits. “A. S. Paterson has made a reasonable success of rationalising its business, and the application of the same principles will assist A.B. Consolidated to do the same thing.”