Fletcher's Crane bid gains ACCC green light

Fletcher's Crane bid gains ACCC green light; Crane directors accept

Feb. 11 (BusinessDesk) - Fletcher Building Ltd., the country’s biggest listed company, said the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has given its A$10.07 (NZ$13.26)-a-share takeover offer for Australia-based Crane Group the green light.

The ACCC decision not to intervene in the takeover fulfills a key condition of the offer. Separately, Fletcher said it now holds 18.78% of Crane, up from 14.9% previously. Acceptances “include shareholdings owned or controlled by Crane's chairman Leo Tutt and managing director Greg Sedgwick,” it said in a statement.

“This is a very positive sign and we expect many investors will take their lead from their support of the offer,” chief executive Jonathan Ling said.

Last week Crane's directors recommended that shareholders accept Fletcher's offer after earlier panning the bid. The deal would give Crane shareholders one Fletcher share plus A$3.50 cash for each Crane share.

Crane's directors have already unanimously recommended the offer, set to close on February 25, in the absence of a better one.

Institutions have indicated they will accept Fletcher's offer which needs other regulatory approvals, including from the New Zealand Commerce Commission, plus 90% acceptance to succeed.

Fletcher shares rose 0.7% to $8.17 in trading today and have risen 5.4% since Dec. 15, the day it launched its offer for Crane. Crane's shares rose 0.1% to A$9.43 in trading on the ASX.

(BusinessDesk)

© Scoop Media