Talks on works

Press, 12 May 1981, Page 1

Talks on works

The Canterbury Frozen Meat Company. Ltd, has been talking with the Cooperative Wholesale Society, of the United Kingdom, regarding the future of the latter’s Ocean Beach works, near Invercargill, C.F.M.’s managing director (Mr D. Morten) confirmed last night.

However, Mr Morten emphasised that at this stage the talks were “lowkey,” and that it would be a considerable time before the negotiations were concluded. The C.F.M. directors had their regular scheduled board meeting yesterday. Mr Morten came briefly' out of the meeting to make the statement. The C.F.M. directors were still meeting at 7.30 p.m., but Mr Morten said that they would not make a statement until today and would not comment on statements made in a radio interview by Mr R. A. Burnside, the chairman of Primary Producers’ Cooperative Society. Mr Burnside said last evening that “we are playing it cool now.” “We have had a rough trip, but we want to act in the best interests of C.F.M. We think that we have always done this, and we want to continue doing so because we see C.F.M.’s interests and the interests of P.P.C.S. ‘ being in tandem.’’ '. . ■ . ;

Mr Bumside said that he had been told on Saturday that Fletcher Challenge, Ltd, was the mystery buyer of C.F.M. shares last week, and that it held 10 per cent of C.F.M.’s ordinary capital. This would make Fletcher the second-biggest shareholder, but a long way behind P.P.C.S.