Fletcher Forests not guilty of disclosure breach - NZSE

By NZPA

Tuesday 11th February 2003

The New Zealand Stock Exchange has found an unexpected spike in Fletcher Forests' share price last month did not breach its disclosure rules.

Fletcher Forests' (FFS) share price jumped 7 percent on January 14, a day ahead of the company announcing it planned a $140 million capital reduction and return to shareholders following the sale of some forestry cutting rights to UBS Timber Investors.

The Securities Commission continues to investigate for possible insider trading issues.

But the Stock Exchange said it found no evidence of a breach of its continuous disclosure rules.

"As advised by FFS, negotiations between FFS and UBS began late November 2002 and were not completed until the evening of Tuesday 14 January 2003."

"Of particular influence to the NZSE decision was the signed undertakings received from every FFS Board member confirming that the negotiation or its terms were not released to any third party prior to the announcement," the exchange said.

The NZSE requires listed companies to disclose material information as soon as confidentiality no longer exists.

Material information is regarded as information that a reasonable person would expect to have a material effect on the share price if it was widely available to the market.

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