Week in review

Friday 6th August 2004

The Securities Commission said ABN Amro Capital, a Belgium-based private equity subsidiary of the global bank, made a misleading statement in the prospectus for the Freightways float. The statement had suggested that it would hold its Freightways shares for 12 months but it sold some after six months.

Calan Healthcare Properties Trustcompleted the sale of $A8.4 million ($9.2 million) of "non-yielding" Australian assets to fund the $50 million Epworth Eastern project in Melbourne. The sales yielded a profit of $980,000.

A2 Corporation said it welcomed recommendations in a Food Authority report that further research be undertaken into the claimed health benefits of A2 milk. Report author Boyd Swinburn called the A1-A2 hypothesis "intriguing and potentially very important for population health if it is proved correct."

Tower Ltd bought a 5% stake in Australian Finance Group, Australia's largest third-party mortgage wholesaler, and announced an alliance with the company to sell life insurance products to AFG customers. Macquarie Research Equities said the move extended Tower's reach but was unlikely to have a material impact on earnings.

Britain's ABF plc, a food, ingredients and retail group, applied for Commerce Commission clearance to buy New Zealand Food Industries, the local yeast business of Burns Philp. Burns undertook to sell the unit to allay competitive concerns when it bought Goodman Fielder.

Carter Holt Harvey sold its last asset in Chile, a 50% stake in paper cup maker International Food Services SA, for $US2 million ($3.1 million). The company reported a revival of demand for its products in China after the state government eased credit controls.

Dunedin City Council sought to add Opio Forestry Fund's forests to its own with an $85c a unit takeover bid. Much of Opio's estate is adjacent to the council's holdings.

Lion Nathan said its participation in "industry consolidation" in the China beer market could involve a sale of its interests or the formation of a joint venture. Lion has three breweries in the Yangtze Delta with a forecast volume of 200 million litres this year.

Telecom became a fellow shareholder with Telstra in an Australian 3G network. Telstra and Hutchison 3G, of which Telecom owns 20%, will run the venture, of which Telecom will own 10%.

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