Exemptions for BIL and FCL

Press, 16 April 1986, Page 45

Exemptions for BIL and FCL

PA Wellington The Securities Commission has exempted Brierley Investments, Ltd, and Fletcher Challenge, Ltd, from complying with certain aspects of security law. The commission recently gazetted exemption to allow BIL to send its cash issue prospectus with an unaudited report (in summary form) for the six months ended December 31.

BIL sought leave from a clause in the Securities Act which requires a prospectus to be accompanied

by annual accounts not more than nine months old. FCL’s planned take-over of Dalgety Crown also warranted special circumstances. In this case, the commission has allowed FCL, Wrightson NMA, Crown Corporation and Crown Finance (all affected parties in the take-overs) to raise money without attaching to the prospectus a copy of the merger agreement. In the first instance, the reason behind the clause that affected BIL was the

requirement to have up-to-date accounts for any issue to the public, the executive director of the commission, Mr John Farrell, said yesterday. The financial information in a prospectus cannot be any older than nine months, but exemption was awarded because BlL’s financial accounts for the 1985-86 year were not yet available. In the case of FCL, the obligation was to disclose all material contracts in the prospectus, but confidentiality had to be respected in the case of

important transactions, Mr Farrell said. The FCL-Dalgety Crown take-over was still a proposal, and still required consent from the Commerce Commission. “They will remain confidential at least until all approvals have been obtained and the matter put into finality,” Mr Farrell said. In the year to March 1985, 46 exemptions were awarded. The latest annual report is expected to show about 24 companies were exempted last year.