Hill family moves to lift control of Michael Hill

Hill family moves to increase control of Michael Hill International

By Jason Krupp

Aug. 25 (BusinessDesk) – The founders of jewellery retailer Michael Hill International Ltd. are planning to consolidate their shareholdings in the NZX-listed company as part of a bid to gain voting control.

The proposed move would amalgamate the 48% of Michael Hill shares held through a number of trusts controlled by the Hill family into a single entity, the company said in a statement today.

The consolidation is a prelude to the family’s bid to increase its stake in the company to 50.1%, it said. The company’s shares rose 3.1% to 67 cents on the news, off a peak of 76 cents in September 2009.

Under New Zealand takeover rules, the Hill family is not permitted to increase its shareholding in the company without shareholder approval. They have proposed putting the matter to a vote at the company’s AGM on Nov. 5.

Michael Hill’s board said that this arrangement will require certain exemptions from the Takeovers Code, which have already been requested by the family.

If approved by shareholders, the Hill family said it would look to increase its voting control in the company through a share buy-back scheme.

Last week, the company posted solid 2010 full year results, with underlying net profit up 60% to $26.5 million.

The results reflected both sales and profit growth in its New Zealand and Australian operations which more than offset losses in Canada and the U.S., where it was forced to close 17 US stores earlier this year.

(BusinessDesk)

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