Corporate raiders taken to task

Press, 30 November 1982, Page 24

Corporate raiders taken to task

“Corporate raiders" and monopolies were criticised at a class meeting of the remaining shareholders of The New Zealand Farmers' Cooperative Association. Ltd, yesterday, called to approve resolutions which would complete the take-over by Bunting and Company. Ltd. The Rev. John Roberts, who represented the Supernumerary Fund Board of the Methodist Church, said that he was expressing concern as a shareholder about the actions of corporate raiders and monopolies, which were not compatible “with what we stand for.’’

The effect of the corporate raider was to displace people from the work force, he said.

The fund had a responsibility to get a sound return on its investments, but it had a higher concern as well. “Our stand is with people and that they come first. Their- livelihood and dignity all come first.” Mr Roberts said that he was the superintendent minister of the Christchurch Methodist Central Mission, and as such he noticed the effects of unemployment in the city, the lack of purpose,

the despondency, and those who did not have accommodation — "people who are victims of a system in which they have little say.” Some actions were quite disturbing in the pursuit of economic gains by company take-overs. “Little or no effort is required to get a higher return. You just have to play the system. “Who suffers? In this case it is those who have no power in the economic and commercial sense,” Mr Roberts said. Another shareholder expressed sadness that this was to be the end of New Zealand Farmers’ because her father had been an early director of the firm, and that she had seen it built up over the years through the investment of farmers, she-said. The company chairman, Mr H. W. Revell, said the reality of the situation was such that if the proposals put forward in the scheme of arrangement were not accepted shareholders would be locked in with no market for their shares because the company was delisted. Shareholders would find themselves at a disadvan-

tage, he said. The class meeting, followed by an extraordinary meeting, were called because although Bunting holds 96.1 per cent of the Farmers' capital it could not compulsorily acquire the rest of shares under the Companies Act, 1955, as the number of shareholders accepting the offer did not reach the minimum required number. Of the 10,882 shareholders at the time of the Bunting offer, the addresses of 2436 of them were unknown by the company. A scheme of arrangement was put forward to class meeting to cancel the existing shareholders’ units and allot Bunting shares or cash, or a combination of both, depending on the size of the holding. The arrangement allowed Bunting to be alloted 453,212 Farmers’ shares, making the Farmers’ a wholly-owned subsidiary. The class and extraordinary. meetings both accepted the resolutions put before them by clear majorities in both numbers of shareholders and the value of the shares.