PDL forms employee trust

Press, 7 September 1989, Page 22

PDL forms employee trust

PDL Industries has set up an employee trust to mop up 11.7 per cent of the shareholding in PDL formerly held by Government Life. When PDL was floated in 1973 Government Life took a 10% stake and this has grown to 11.2% since then. Sir Robertson Stewart, the chairman of PDL, said the trust was better than having the former Government Life shares in the hands of people who might not even be interested in the company.

The Robertson family and the trust have about 80 per cent of PDL’s shareholding. The unit trust, which will eventually provide employees with health and welfare benefits, bought 1,594,480 PDL shares from Government Life at 214 c a share. PDL shares last traded at 252 c. They have risen from 140 c at the beginning of July. The PDL Group is financing the trust’s share purchase. Sir Robertson told the Stock Exchange

yesterday that the funding arrangement provided PDL with a “return commensurate with the risk associated with the funding” of the trust. But he said last evening that he believed commercial rates were being charged. The first obligation of the trust would be to service this debt, and benefits would not be available for distribution to employees in the short term, Sir Robertson said. The “nature, timing and extent” of any benefits are at the discretion of

the trustees: Sir Robertson; Mr David Bainbridge, managing director of Lasercorp Holdings; and Mr Paul Mortlock and Ms Mary Johnstone, of Hensley Mortlock, PDL’s solicitors.

All the employees of PDL Holdings and Lasercorp Holdings and their subsidiaries will be beneficiaries under the trust. Sir Robertson said the trust at present did not intend to buy further shares in PDL or make any other substantial investments.