SALE SCHEME DEFEATED

Taranaki Daily News, 13 December 1932, Page 7

SALE SCHEME DEFEATED

WAIROA MEAT COMPANY. Gisborne, December 12. The township of Wairoa was a rendezvous of practically the whole farming community of the Wairoa county yesterday, when a special meeting of shareholders of the Wairoa Farmers’ Co-op-erative Meat Company, Ltd., was held to ’ consider a motion to sell the comassets and property. The company’s freezing works were damaged by the earthquake in 1931, and were subsequently extensively damaged by fire, A combined offer to purchase the assets had been made by the Gisborne Refrigerating Company, Ltd., the Hawke’s Bay Farmers’ Meat Company, Ltd., and Nelsons (N.Z.), Ltd., Hastings, and accepted by the directors conditional upon approval of the shareholders. At a previous meeting the shareholders had instructed the directors to recondition and start ~the worjes, but tenders for reconstruction exceeded the estimates and increased the difficulties of financing the undertaking.

When the offer from the combined companies was received the directors of the Wairoa Company considered it should be accepted. Yesterday’s meeting of shareholders was presided over by Mr. J. S. Jessep, chairman of directors. There was a large attendance and voting on the motion to sell was in favour of the sale by 996 to 551. However, a 75 per cent, majority was necessary, and the motion to accept the offer was .therefore lost. The articles of association of this company limit the voting power of one shareholder, regardless of the number of shares held, to five votes. Consequently, the voting is heavily in favour of th® small shareholder. Intense interest in the voting was shown and the small Shareholders carried the day. Now that the proposal has been rejected the directors will have to consider again what is to be done with the works. There is little likelihood of their being reopened this season. The townspeople of Wairoa, who in the past had derived much support from employees at the works, were greatly opposed to the sale as it was understood that the combined companies did not intend to rebuild, but would transport stock from the district to either Namier or Gisborne,