Euro-Nat. control approval

Press, 31 May 1986, Page 24

Euro-Nat. control approval

PA , Wellington The Auckland merchant bank and financier, EuroNational Corporation, Ltd, yesterday obtained shareholder approval for the acquisition of a controlling interest in Bestobeli Australia, a Sydney-based publicly-listed company.

This completed all the statutory requirements, and the company was expected to relist on the Sydney Stock Exchange as Euro-National Australia, Ltd, next Thursday. At an extraordinary meeting, Bestobell Australia shareholders approved the sale, Euro-National’s acquisition of the Bestobeli shell and the change of name to EuroNational Australia.

The Australian company would start with sAust 10.2 million in cash, the ability to gear it up with borrowings, and the determination to track down and buy businesses with growth and profit potential, said Mr Rod Petricevic, Euro-National’s managing director. The company’s first venture, as previously announced, would be the acquisition and development of Smith, Curry and Partners, a leading firm of chartered accountants.

Euro-National was planning potential projects in Asia and the U.K., and expected those, their Australian operation and the growth of existing business to lift net profit of the group to S9M for the year to March 31 1987, he said. This compared with the maiden net profit of $2.9M that the company reported last week for the first eight months of its operation to March 31. Euro-National Australia would list with a net tangible asset backing of Austlsoc a share, and the directors believed the company was capable of pre-tax profits of sAust3.2l million in the first year of operation, and sAust4.ssM in the second, assuming the cash assets were Invested at an appropriate rate of return.

Its dividend policy would be to pay not less than 25 per cent of net profit to shareholders in dividends.