Question of options irks F.A.I.

Press, 25 January 1988, Page 27

Question of options irks F.A.I.

NZPA-AAP Sydney The National Companies and Securities Commission refused F.A.I. Insurance permission to increase its stake in Cumberland Credit Corporation unless it also reduced its options, F.A.l.’s chairman, Mr Larry Adler, has said. In a television interview, Mr Adler said F.A.I. had wanted to increase its holding from, 19.9 per cent but did not want to reduce its options. Cumberland’s share price fell to 73c on Friday from Thusday’s closing price of 76c as a further 6.5 million shares, about 3 per cent of the company, were traded. Mr Adler said F.A.L had written to the N.C.S.C., saying it felt reducing its options would have been unethical and not commercially sound. Instead F.A.L sold its interests in Cumberland to Coronet Equities N.Z., Ltd, he said. Later, Equiticorp Holdings sold its 12 per cent stake in Cumberland a'nd Equitilink disposed of its 5 per cent stake, indicating a lack of confidence in a Cumberland with Mr Adler no longer in control. Since then, both T.N.T. and Solomon Lew’s Dewvale Investments have bought substantial shares in Cumberland. T.N.T. increased its stake to 16.1 per cent