Battle for control of Wallace

Press, 9 March 1984, Page 11

Battle for control of Wallace

PA Auckland A corporate battle seems to be looming between D. McL. Wallace, Ltd, and three Auckland businessmen who received approval to take control of the diversified engineering operation, industry sources said yesterday. Mr G. D. Bowkett, Mr H. K. Baigent, and Mr J. A. Jamieson yesterday moved to increase their stake in D. McL. Wallace a further 10 per cent through on-market purchases. They offered 125 c for the ordinary shares, 122 c for the 17 per cent preference shares, and 110 c for the 12 per cent convertible notes. However, initial sales reports indicated that D. McL. Wallace shareholders were standing their ground. Only

5000 ordinaries changed hands at prices up to 130 c (10c above the businessmen’s offer). Industry sources said D. McL. Wallace, a manufacturing engineer, and importer and

exporter of pumps, farm machinery, and CNG and LPG equipment was far from pleased about the inroads being made by the businessmen into the group's share capital Mr Baigent said last evening that he was confident more D. McL. Wallace shareholders would take up the offer. But strong support for D. McL. Wallace scrip on the sharemarket yesterday suggested that the price would have to be raised before sizeable acceptances occurred. According to a press release yesterday Mr Baigent is the managing director and major shareholder of Tellus Vacuum Cleaners (N.Z.), Ltd, and Mr Bowkett is the managing director and major shareholder of Bad Bins, Ltd. The pair also have farming interests in the King Country. “Our primary interest is in the investment potential of the

trading activities of D. McL. Wallace,” said Mr Baigent yesterday. "Some of them are complementary to our own operations.” “Obviously we are also interested in D. McL. Wallace’s

50 per cent associate company, Industrial Waste Collections, Ltd." The Press Association reports that Mr Baigent Mr Bowkett and Mr Jamieson are the only directors of A. W. Bryant, Ltd, an industrial waste disposal firm with interests in other cartage activities. It appeared the prime aim was to get hold of the target company’s 50 per cent interest in Industrial Waste Collections, Ltd. D. McL. Wallace shares ownership of Industrial Waste with the Australian group, Thomas Nationwide Transport, Ltd, and has been the group’s best-performing associate in recent years. The Bryant group is Industrial Waste’s major competitor in the $l5 million-a-year waste collection industry.