Statement promised by Lion board

Press, 21 February 1978, Page 21

Statement promised by Lion board

*“ Wellington | The director of Lion Breweries, Ltd, believed their actions regarding the newly! formed Androcles Corporation would be approved by: shareholders, according to the chief executive of Lion (Mr J. Macfarlane). Addressing an investor re- : lations seminar in Welling-: ton, Mr Macfarlane said Lion directors had been con-j

! fronted with a situation, at an awkward time of the year, whereby they saw the; overwhelming majority of! 'shareholders being placed at! a disadvantage versus a privileged few. “Much of the data avail-1 able to the board was, of necessity, confident’al,” he! I said “This example, however,; highlights the problem: At a| [time when the company’s:

specified preference shares were being quoted at 70c, ;we had reports that the holder of a very large parcel was offered 80c. “If a genuine take-over ■ offer had been contemplated lor made for all of the com-, pany’s outstanding stock then, of course, the directors, as would have been I their duty, would have considered it carefully and ■objectively,” said Mr Macifarlane. “As events unfold — and the Lion directors intend to make a fuller statement to shareholders after the board’s meeting on February 22 — the directors of Lion feel the board’s actions will meet with the approbation of those it set out to protect.” He said much speculation had taken place in the press about the reasons for the Lion board’s action. “We should remind ourselves in this context that the basis of much commercial judgement is founded on confidential data, and the deductions and decisions made from such data can only be made by those to whom the data is available — that is, the directors. The affairs of the company cannot be conducted in the press.”