Fletcher on cusp of forcing Crane takeover, shares hit new three-year high

Fletcher Building, the country's biggest listed company, is on the cusp of forcing the remaining shareholders in Crane Group to sell. The shares gained to a new three-year high on the open of trading.

The construction company has secured 89.46 per cent of Crane's shares, up from 87.23 per cent, according to its latest disclosure. That's just short of the 90 per cent level where a bidder can enforce a mandatory buy-out of minority shares.

The A$10.07 a share cash-and-scrip offer for Crane, which includes a 50 Australian cents dividend, closes on Friday.

The bid won the approval of Crane's directors after it was sweetened to A$3.50 cash and one Fletcher share for every Crane share. The previous bid, which was rejected, was in a range of A$9.05 to A$9.45 per share - below Crane's independent valuation range of A$9.92 to A$11.56

"It's always difficult getting 90 per cent of a company, particularly when there are passive funds holding a portion of them," said Rickey Ward, equities manager at Tyndall Investment Management. "By removing that restriction, it made the target easier to meet."

Fletcher's shares rose 0.8 per cent to $9.24 in trading today, and have climbed 21 per cent this year.

Earlier this month, Fletcher called the takeover unconditional when it claimed more than half of Crane's shares, having previously said the deal would need to hit the 90 per cent level.