lEL offer

Press, 10 March 1984, Page 21

lEL offer

NZPA Sydney Industrial Equity, Ltd, (lEL) is to make an unconditional offer of 90c a share for ,all the shares of G. R. Wills Holdings, Ltd, not already owned. The lEL directors say the offer, through the lEL subsidiary, Nathan Trading Com- «, Pty, Ltd, values the wholesale distributing business at sAustll.4M. lEL’s offer price is 5c a share more than it offered for 2M Wills shares in 1982, and is 10c more than the current market price of Wills scrip. lEL is currently entitled to 4.97 M Wills shares, or 39.39 per cent of the capital. An offer of 100 c a share is also being made for the balance of the preference capital other than the 10.01 per cent already held. The lEL directors say the offer for Wills follows a

1982 undertaking to shareholders to make an offer of not less than 90c a share for the balance of Wills’ capital. lEL said yesterday it had an unaudited net profit of sAustB.2lM for the half year to December 31, well up on $4.99M for the previous corresponding six months. Tax was $384,000, compared with $743,000 previously, and minorities were $1.56M, compared with $1.46M. An interim dividend of 5c per share will be paid. The directors say the result does not include the effect of the sale of shares previously held in Carlton and United Breweries, Ltd. After making provision for all charges and appropriations applicable to that transaction, there is a net surplus of about SSM which will arise in the current accounting period.