Bid for 1M Marac shares

Press, 21 January 1982, Page 16

Bid for 1M Marac shares

An Auckland firm of sharebrokers, Morrow and Benjamin, is standing in the market to buy a million shares in Marac Holdings. Ltd. the finance company. The brokers are offering 220 c for the company’s ordinary shares and 115 c for the rights to its current cash issue of ordinary shares. These prices compare with Tuesday's sales of the shares at 205 c and the rights at 100 c.

At March 31. Marac’s paid capital was $15,500,000. The current cash issue (a one-for-three at a price of 100 c for each ordinary 50c share) will raise this to more than $21,500,000.

The order if filled, amounts to just under 2.5 per cent of the enlarged capital: Marac’s main shareholder is Fletcher-Challenge which holds almost 59 per cent of the company's capital. Fletcher-Challenge also owns Broadlands Finance. The managing .director of Fletcher Challenge (Mr Hugh Fletcher) said in a speech last year that investors should not bet on a merger between Broadlands and Marac. Another suitor that has been suggested for Marac is the NZ South British Insurance Group, Ltd.

For the six months to September 30 Marac earned

a 12 per cent higher profit of $2,320,000; the directors said that the result did not fully reflect the strong gains of all wholly-owned subsidiaries, which increased their profit contribution 92 per cent to $3,960,000.

This was offset to a large extent by equity losses of $1,640,000 sustained by associated companies. Most of these losses were made by 50 per cent owned Marac Finance Australia. Ltd, which suffered an abnormal level of bad debts.

The market yesterday moved away from the bid, as 116,500 shares were sold at prices between 226 c and 241 c, and rights at 136 c.

On the Christchurch Stock Exchange there was a buyer of Marac offering 240 c. and the rights at 135 c. One broker was reported yesterday as saying this move was “just what the market needed to get things moving again.” He said “the phones are ringing again as investors are getting back into the market."