F and P outlay up to $5,250,000

Press, 27 May 1981, Page 29

F and P outlay up to $5,250,000

Fisher and Paykel will have to outlay up to $5,250,000 to implement its open market buying to increase its shareholding in Henderson and Pollard from 21 per cent to about 40 per cent. The company picked up more than 500.000 Henderson and Pollard, Ltd, shares in the first half hour of trade on the Auckland Stock Exchange yesterday. A spokesman for the sharebrokers handling the bid for one million shares in the timber company said that this figure covered both on-market and off-market trade. Fisher and Paykel is offering 525 c for Henderson and Pollard ordinary shares and 400 c for the company's specified preference shares. This tops the offer of 475 c for the ordinaries and 365 c for the preference shares made by Feltex. The Feltex offer (seeking to raise its holding to 55 per cent) has been posted out to all shareholders, and the new bid from Fisher and Paykel follows an intense series of

meetings and phone calls late on Monday night. After a. meeting between representatives and advisors of both Henderson and Pollard and Fisher and Paykel, a statement was issued that "an attractive'’ open market stand for 1,000.000 shares in Henderson and Pollard would be made. This news was telephoned to all the company's significant shareholders’(the company has about 1500 shareholders altogether) and brokers throughout the country. The price being offered by Fisher and Paykel was not announced until 10 a.m. yesterday. The back-up letter’sent out by Henderson and Pollard's board says that they have refrained from making any comment on what they considered an unwelcome attempt by Feltex to seize control of the company. "Such a take-over bid is not considered to be in the best interests of shareholders. the public, staff, management, or customers. "Your board deplores the

manner in which Feltex delivered their take-over bid on Henderson and Pollard without any prior discussion. "The confusion, uncertainty, and disruption to which staff have been subject is very real.’’ The statement says that Fisher and Paykel. with whom the company has had a 15 year business association has the approval of the Examiner of Commercial Practices to increase its shareholding to about 40 per cent. Feltex, it is understood, has not yet received clearance for its offer from the Examiner. Submissions have been made to the Examiner from interests in the furniture trade (Feltex owns Airest and Personality) suggesting that the Feltex stake be limited. The managing director of Feltex (Mr H. M. Titter), said yesterday that, he was not yet in a position to comment on the latest development, but might do so later.