Ceramco bids $5.6M for Midland

Press, 18 August 1981, Page 26

Ceramco bids $5.6M for Midland

Ceramco, Ltd, has acquired a 40 per cent interest in Midland Coachlines, Ltd, and is making a $3.4M offer to acquire the balance of the > company from its ‘ other shareholders.

. Ceramco has bought the 40 per cent interest from the Auckland motor dealer, Mr Colin .Giltrap, and the Laugesen family which includes Mr L. K. Laugesen. of Christ? church, the founder of' the company who retired as chairman last year. ■ ...

The Ceramco. offer for the outstanding shares is two ordinary Ceramco shares plus 175 c cash for every three Midland, ordinary or specified preference shares. Based on the last sale price for Ceramco shares it is worth about 230 c for each Midland share. The Midland ordinaries last sold in Auckland at 190 c and the specified preference shares at 210 c.

The specified preference shares are due to convert on

a one-for-one basis on December 31. ;• • Shares issued in the move will, be ex the 11 per cent dividend that Ceramco is due to pay next month, but will rank for the next interim which is due in mid-Decem-ber.;:'4

-■ Midland, will, however, be entitled to pay a final dividend for the year to June 30 of not more than 8 per cent on its ordinary shares and 5.5 per cent on its specified preference shares. .; The offer- has been approved by the Examiner of -Commercial Practices and is conditional ' upon a 90 per cent acceptance with the right for Ceramco to declare it unconditional, once it has 50 per cent of Midland’s capital.

Mr Giltrap acquired his interest in Midland towards the end of last year by buying on the open market. His efforts to gain total control of the company with

its Hertz rental franchise for New Zealand was frustrated when the Midland group sold 50 per pent of its Hertz operation to Marac Holdings, Ltd. / Zu

More recently Midland moved to acquire the, tour, and transport activities of U.E.B. Industries, Ltd’s subsidiary, Trans Holdings, Ltd. Ceramco, a diversified Auckland group with interests in ceramics, engineering, and energy projects; took the market completely by surprise with this move, into tourism. . . r- -

Commenting briefly on. the $5.6M deal, the managing director (Mr Tom Clark) said: “It’s an exciting move: We like Midland as the bept of the tourism companies with its whole act now' together. A lot of development could lie ahead but Midland has good people and. we would want to retain them.” The Midland directors meet today to discuss the bid.