Minority shuns Fletcher deal

By MELANIE CARROLL

Listed retirement care provider ElderCare, formerly NZ Petroleum, has reached a final settlement with Fletcher Energy over more than 4000 disputed preference shares in Energy's subsidiary, Southern Petroleum.

Fletcher Energy will pay Eldercare $1.3 million to conclude the dispute.

Although ElderCare chief executive Alan Clarke yesterday declared himself happy with the deal, about 350 Southern Petroleum shareholders are continuing their legal fight against Fletcher Energy.

In December, Fletcher Energy paid ElderCare $275,000 in settlement of two claims, after ElderCare dropped a claim alleging insider trading in 1995.

Fletcher Energy took over Southern Petroleum in 1995, and was in turn bought by Royal Dutch Shell and Apache last month.

The unhappy Southern Petroleum shareholders are awaiting a High Court date for their claim to be heard. The group alleges that price-sensitive information was withheld during Fletcher Energy's takeover of Southern Petroleum.

The claimants originally acted in conjunction with ElderCare's claim, but broke away early last year when ElderCare dropped the insider trading allegations.

Eldercare chairman Maurice Kidd said at the time that its decision to drop the case was based on a legal review which indicated the action had little chance of success.

Representatives of the minority shareholders had decided to seek $2 a share, or about $23 million, after looking at documents valuing assets that came out during the sale of Fletcher Energy to Shell.

Spokesman Tony Gavigan, a former project manager at NZ Petroleum, said: "We're back in court on May 18 for the setting down of a hearing date. We've filed all our additional evidence and we've just sent a report out to the shareholders we're representing.

- NZPA