Active bid to take 19.9pc of Hirequip peters out

A market stand by former Brierley Investments executives for Hirequip has petered out well short of their 19.9 per cent target.

Paul Collins, an ex-BIL executive and founding member of Active Equities, which teamed up with Timaru multimillionaire Allan Hubbard in the share grab, said yesterday the offer had closed shy of the target.

Collins and fellow Active founders Patsy Ready, also of BIL fame, and Hubbard - through a joint venture vehicle called Willpro - built up a combined stake in Hirequip from under 5 per cent to a little over 13 per cent in a stand that began with an overnight raid on Tuesday and ended at 5pm on Thursday.

What began as a gusher - with Willpro offering 93c a share, up 12c on the pre-offer price - slowed to a trickle, with the group picking up less than 1 per cent on the second day as the share price rallied as high as 97c.

Collins was sanguine about the outcome. "We felt we would see what shares were available at the price we offered," he said.

"While we were aiming for 19.9 per cent, our target was to get to 10 per cent and we achieved that."

The Hirequip raid had the aura of a BIL deal. The modus operandi of corporate raider Sir Ron Brierley's former investment vehicle was to buy into under-valued companies, often taking a contrary view on their prospects. BIL would get inside the company via board seats, shake the company up, and/or hive off under-performing assets.

Active has been looking at Hirequip for some time but only since the recent drop in its share price has it spotted value and an opportunity.

Hirequip's shares rose from 53c in December 2002 to a peak of $1.34 just over a year ago, but touched a year low in January of 78c.

Shares in Hirequip were steady at 95c in late trading yesterday.

- NZPA