Judge moves on Ariadne

Press, 9 November 1988, Page 38

Judge moves on Ariadne

Mr Bruce Judge was party to a take-over bid for Ariadne Australia yesterday through Ampersand International, a Perth-based listed investment. Ampersand is proposing to offer one fully-paid ordinary share for every two ordinary Ariadne shares. The chairman of Ampersand, Mr Frank Carr, said yesterday that the company was also proceeding with its bid for Magenta Holdings, the associate unlisted investment company run by Mr Bruce Judge, former founder of Ariadne. Besides himself, the other members of the Ampersand board were now Mr Judge, Mr Ross Harrison, and Mr John Mathewson, Mr Carr said. Ampersand and Magenta had also jointly entered into a finance facility agreement with Intersuisse, a stockbroker, in the payment of sAust2o million by Magenta to FAI Insurances. This is for the balance due on FAl’s 19.9 per cent stake in Ariadne. Mr Judge was granted an extension on the S2OM balance of the original purchase price of $84.7M for the Ariadne stake in October. Ampersand was entitled to 146 million Ariadne shares, or 19.68 per cent of issued capital, through an association with Magenta Holdings and Intersuisse. The shares came from the share parcel bought from FAI. Intersuisse had agreed to raise S2OM of the S3OM still owed by Magenta to

FAI for a SIM fee in a joint agreement with Magenta and Ampersand. Mr Carr said that he believed that Ampersand had been significant in the interests of all Ariadne’s shareholders by being a catalyst in retiring the debt and the eventual reconstruction of Ariadne. Ariadne was “a company with substantial growth potential and ... Ampersand would further substantially contribute to the re-emergence of Ariadne as a creditable and dynamic entrepreneurial company in the best interests of all shareholders and creditors of Ariadne.” Ampersand had kept the services of Intersuisse in Australia and internationally to help ensure the success of its bid. Hellenic Holdings Pty (a company associated with Mr Carr), and Perngold Pty (a company associated with Mr Judge) had indicated that the offer by Ampersand for their shareholdings in Magenta would be accepted, subject to the approval of Ampersand’s shareholders. Ampersand’s offer documents for Magenta were with the Corporate Affairs Department, Melbourne, for examination, Mr Carr said. Ampersand has a paidup capital of 19,760,800 20c ordinary shares and shareholders’ funds of about sAust9M. Its main activities are an industrial glove manufacturing company in the Philippines and a broadcasting equipment development and manufacturing company in Perth.