Active Equities beats injunction

By PHILIPPA STEVENSON

Like a tag team wrestler, Active Equities has again weighed into the long-running grudge match between meat companies Richmond and PPCS.

In yesterday's bout the company of former Brierley Investment executives Paul Collins, Bruce Hancox and Patsy Reddy gave notice it would exercise an option requiring PPCS to buy the remaining shareholding in Richmond of its subsidiary Hawkes Bay Meats by next February 1.

Also yesterday, Richmond obtained an interim High Court injunction preventing PPCS trading its shares until a High Court case is heard in August. But Active Equities, which notified PPCS of its move last Friday, beat the timekeeper's bell.

Active Equities director Paul Collins said his company gave notice so that all parties were aware of its rights in the matter.

"We were not involved in the injunction and had no knowledge of it until after it was granted," he said.

Three separate proceedings have been filed with the High Court to determine the status of PPCS, which owns 37 per cent of Richmond and, with Active Equities' remaining holding, would have 52 per cent.

The proceedings, filed by Richmond, PPCS and a group of Richmond shareholders, have been combined and are due to be heard in Christchurch on August 6. They are designed to establish PPCS' status as a Richmond shareholder amid allegations it earlier warehoused shares with Active Equities when it was forced to divest.

Collins said Active understood that all parties to the litigation would work to have the case heard as soon as possible, "and so I expect that the claims will be resolved before our settlement date comes around.

"Until then, nothing much changes," he said. "[Active Equities] will continue to support Richmond as it had done to date."

PPCS chief operating officer Keith Cooper said the company was seeking advice on the implications of Active's move but did not believe it materially changed anything for the company.

"We did not do anything today," he said. " We just sat there and lots of paper came across our desk."

Richmond chief executive John Loughlin said the company sought the injunction after comments in some media suggesting PPCS could purchase minority shareholdings, or use other transactions to resolve its position.

"What the company wished to do was ensure that the process that was under way was completed and all the issues were permanently resolved."

Neither PPCS nor Active Equities had done anything contrary to resolving the issue in court, Loughlin said.

There was no chance the matter would be heard before August 6, he said.