Business
Offer for Tower Ltd NZ
Offer for Tower Ltd NZ.
About this update from Coats Group Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n Guinness Peat Group PLC\n02 May 2008\n\n\n\n\n Guinness Peat Group plc\n\n Partial Offer for shares in Tower Limited in New Zealand\n\n\nThe following is the text of an announcement made today by Guinness Peat Group\nplc (\"GPG\") on the New Zealand Stock Exchange (\"NZSX\") in respect of a partial\ncash offer at NZ$2.30 (£0.90) per share to purchase up to 29,342,450 (15.30%) of\nthe issued ordinary shares of Tower Limited (\"Tower\"), a New Zealand company\nfocused on the risk insurance and wealth management market in New Zealand (the \"\nOffer\"). Before the Offer GPG held 19.7% of Tower's issued shares. On the\nsuccessful conclusion of this Offer GPG would therefore hold 35% of the issued\nshare capital of Tower.\n\nThe gross assets of Tower at 30 September 2007 were NZ$1,546 million (£606\nmillion) and the profits from continuing operations before taxation for that\nyear were NZ$55 million (£22 million).\n\n\n\n\nJ R Russell\nCompany Secretary\nGuinness Peat Group plc\nTel: +44 207 484 3370\n\n\n\n2 May 2008\n\n\n -----------------------------------------------------------\n\n \"GPG Partial Takeover Offer\n\n\nGuinness Peat Group plc (\"GPG\") has advised that a wholly-owned subsidiary, GPG\nTwenty One Limited, intends to make a partial offer under the New Zealand\nTakeovers Code to purchase 15.30% of the ordinary shares in TOWER Limited (\"\nTOWER\") at a price of $2.30 per share. GPG currently controls, through a\nwholly-owned subsidiary, 19.70% of TOWER.\n\nThe offer will provide TOWER shareholders an opportunity to sell their shares at\na price that is a 11.1% premium to the last TOWER closing price and a 16.3%\npremium to the 1 month volume weighted average price.\n\nGPG Executive Director Tony Gibbs said \"from GPG's perspective, as a result of\nthe spin-offs of Tower Australia Group Limited and Australian Wealth Management\nLimited, GPG's investment in TOWER had reduced considerably in size. The offer\nwould give GPG the ability to invest more money in TOWER and increase the value\nof its investment back up to a more optimal investment size more consistent with\nother investments in its portfolio.\"\n\nMr Gibbs also said \"he expected the offer to be extremely well supported by both\nlarge and small shareholders. In particular small shareholders, many of whom\nhold uneconomic parcels, will have the opportunity t...