Sleigh gets preference

Press, 2 May 1981, Page 20

Sleigh gets preference

PA Sydney Shareholders in H. C. Sleigh, Ltd, are being given a special entitlement to shares in Caltex Australia, Ltd, the chairman, Mr Peter Sleigh said yesterday. In a letter to The Melbourne Stock Exchange, he said copies of the Caltex prospectus were to be mailed to Sleigh shareholders with an Australian address who bought shares on, or before, April 24. and were registered or entitled to be a shareholder on May 1. “In order to protect the interests of the large number of small shareholders in H. C. Sleigh, arrangements had been made for 200 shares in

Caltex Australia, Ltd, to be reserved for each shareholder in H. C. Sleigh who received the prospectus.” Mr Sleigh's letter noted that at the company's extraordinary meeting on April 16 when the decision to sell Golden Fleece to Caltex for sAustlol million was approved, he indicated that he. hoped that if Caltex decided to make a public share issue, that Caltex would give consideration to Sleigh shareholders. But on Tuesday, when Caltex announced that it would float 25 per cent of its equity to Australian residents through the issue of 45 million shares at 200 c each,

Caltex chairman Mr John Landels said only that arrangements had been made for underwriters Ord Minnett to mail copies of the prospectus to Sleigh shareholders and Caltex employees. Mr Landels said there would be no special entitlements. Would-be investors have been barraging the stock exchange, brokers, and Caltex with calls for information on the share issue since it was announced, and Ords said that the issue was already on its way to being oversubscribed despite the fact that prospectuses had still not been mailed out.