Big sales of Goldfields

Press, 18 April 1986, Page 12

Big sales of Goldfields

PA Auckland More than one million shares of New Zealand Goldfields, Ltd, have reportedly been sold on the Auckland Stock Exchange in three days this week.

On Wednesday 135,000 shares were reportedly sold at 555 c, after 497,700 were sold at 550 c on Tuesday, and 390,000 on Monday at 554 c. The total of 1,022,700 shares represents almost 7 per cent of the com-

pany’s issued capital.

The chairman of NZ Goldfields, Mr Maurice Goodwin, said the reported sales appeared to be a "tidying up” of buying transactions by Claremont Petroleum NL, of Australia. Claremont last month received approval from the Commerce Commission and Overseas Investment Commission to take its stake in NZ Goldfields to 35 per cent.

Claremont had indi-

cated buying 24.8 per cent of the New Zealand company through on-market transactions since August. The average price paid was 403 c. Goldfields shares had been trading around 100 c before Claremont launched a market raid.

The later announcement of Goldfield’s farmout agreement with Freeport Australia Minerals, Ltd, over the Karangahake licence area, and an Indonesian

goldfields deal, drove the share price as high as 630 c. Mr Goodwin said he believed the share transactions had taken place between Goldfields’ largest shareholder, Exchange Commerce Corporation, of Brussels, and Claremont. The latest available figures from Goldfields show 90 per cent of the issued capital was held by the top 10 shareholders. Exchange Commerce held 56.4 per cent.