GPG offers just 2 seats

Press, 29 June 1987, Page 26

GPG offers just 2 seats

PA Auckland London-based merchant banker Guinness Peat Group pic has decided to invite Mr Allan Hawkins, chairman of Equiticorp Holdings, Ltd, and Mr Grant Adams, chairman of Equiticorp’s Hong Kong subsidiary, Capitalcorp International, Ltd, to join its board. The directors of Capitalcorp, which now has a 28.03 per cent stake in Guinness Peat, are to meet soon to consider their response. Capitalcorp issued a statement saying it was pleased to have received the formal Guinness Peat Group (GPG) invitations. “We understand that these invitations are conditional only upon Capitalcorp withdrawing its -requisition of an extraordinary (meeting) of Guinness Peat dated June 15, and the invitations are not subject to the further conditions earlier imposed by Guinness Peat,” said Mr Peter Hunt, managing director of Capitalcorp. The requisition was for three directors, including Mr Hunt, to be appointed. The GPG statement recalled the failure of earlier, discussions on the appointment of three Equiticorp directors and said the talks had been developing in a friendly

and constructive manner. Latest date for GPG to send the required notice of meeting was July 6. The statement went on to say the decision to proceed with the invitations to Mr Hawkins and Mr Adams was made by the GPG board last Tuesday, an intention confirmed to Mr Hawkins on June 11. It now seems Capitalcorp will be considering whether to accept the two seats instead of the three apparently requested and the conditions for agreement. The GPG statement said it had been decided “to invite Equiticorp to resume discussion of possible levels of co-opera-tion between GPG’s investment banking division and Capitalcorp.” It added: “Both are in investment banking and financial services broadly defined, but have rather different businesses on opposite sides of the world.” “In GPG’s view,” according to the chairman, Mr Alistair Morton, “there is scope for mutual assistance and co-operation. We shall be happy to examine it and develop it wherever possible as we get to know more about the complementary attributes of the Equiticorp group.”