Forum Archive Index - October 2001

[<txfgroup@txf.co.nz>]

This announcement was carried by NewsRoom before the markets opened today and 
probably why a trading halt has been instituted immediately.
_______________________________________________________


Slice Of Frucor up For Sale

NewsRoom.co.nz Agency Story at 24 Oct 2001 08:40


Buyers are being sought for a substantial stake in Frucor as the beverage 
marketer's largest shareholder prepares to sell its stake in the company.

The maker of energy drink V and a range of fruit based drinks is currently 
trading at 188 cents after reaching an all time low of 142 a month ago.

However, Frucor's prospects have been raised by its performance in Britain, 
where it has jumped into second place in the energy drink segment, and by being 
named one of the 20 best small companies in the world by influential financial 
magazine Forbes.

Those two factors have apparently prompted Frucor's largest
shareholder, Bain & Co, to give a Sydney merchant bank the
mandate to sell its 31 per cent stake.

The task will be complicated by the Takeovers code, which only allows any one 
purchaser to buy just under 20 per cent of Frucor from Bain & Co.

To get a bigger stake, any prospective buyers would need to make a formal 
takeover bid to lift their stake to at least 51 per cent.

That will also give other shareholders who bought in when the company floated a 
chance to cash out part of their holdings.

The market is speculating that the buyer may well be a major beverage company 
who can extract immediate gains by pumping the Frucor range through its own 
distribution network.

Frucor was extracted from the former Apple & Pear Marketing Board operation and 
sold for $50 million to private investors in 1998.

It has gained significant market share here, Australia, South Africa and 
Britain and is currently valued at $235 million.

(c) NewsRoom 2001






----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Want to find share analysis that is accurate, reliable and useful?  Check
out Intelligent Investing's "Quick Reports", information for the savvy
investor

Click here: http://www.intelligentinvesting.co.nz/quickreports/home.htm

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
To remove yourself from this list, please use the form at
http://www.sharechat.co.nz/chat/forum/