Buyout could take up to two years
By ANDREA FOX - The Dominion Post
Last updated 05:00 05/02/2010
Remaining shareholders in delisted international property development and investment firm Richina Pacific could have to wait up to two years to be paid for their shares in a management buyout.
A letter from chairman John Walker, which according to irate shareholder Glenn Taylor was emailed to shareholders on the afternoon of Christmas Eve, said the company's objective was for all shareholders to fully exit by the end of 2011.
The letter also said Dame Jenny Shipley had resigned as a Richina Pacific director. She continues to chair subsidiary Mainzeal Property and Construction.
Dame Jenny said she had stepped down as a director because of workload after being appointed chairwoman of Genesis Energy.
Mr Walker wrote that although the company's buyout offer expired on December 31, it would continue to make or procure offers for the shares at 45c for each parcel of four division shares.
"We currently contemplate purchasing (or procuring the purchase of) before year-end 2010 up to one-half of the remaining shares of shareholders who want to sell their shares, assuming the payment of US$2.5 million on the loan to the company from Siam Commercial Bank (SCB) is made before such purchase, and further purchasing (or procuring ...) before year-end 2011 the remaining shares of such shareholders, assuming another payment of US$2.5 million on a loan from SCB is made before such purchase."
Further details would be announced "shortly" after the 2009 annual results were determined, he wrote.
The board was also making progress with plans to restructure the group, with some or all the divisions of the company to become stand-alone companies, the letter said.
Richina Pacific, which focuses on investment in China, is registered in Bermuda and headquartered in Malaysia, announced a restructure and delisting about 14 months ago.
No-one in the company could be contacted.
The chairman's letter said that on November 27, the company paid out 1809 shareholders.
That would leave about 800 shareholders, down from more than 2400 at the start of 2009.
More than 90 per cent of shareholders, representing more than 19 per cent of shares, had accepted the buyout offer, Mr Walker wrote.
Mr Taylor has complained in writing to the Malaysian headquarters, saying the "dragging out of this offer is a disgrace".
He noted the Christmas Eve timing of the chairman's emailed letter, which he said many shareholders would have missed, and sought more information about the buyout processes.
"As someone who voted against the delisting of the company from the NZX, but was then declined settlement in February 2009, I cannot accept waiting a further two years to get out of my Richina investment."
Mr Taylor has held up to 40,000 Richina shares at various times. He said he paid 50c for each share parcel.
He has about 11,000 shares after Richina bought back 5000 from him before Christmas.
In an emailed response to him, Richina representative May Kwan wrote: "In our view there was nothing negative in the chairman's letter ... the timing was purely a function of the final restructuring being implemented the week before."