Network Waitaki holds off on offer

Network Waitaki has decided to put off making a recommendation on a Dunedin company's $57 million takeover bid.

But its board of directors resolved unanimously that ownership and management of the company should remain in local hands.

The announcement followed a directors' meeting in Oamaru of the locally owned electricity lines.

It was the first opportunity for the board to discuss the offer, made by Aurora Energy, a Dunedin City Council-owned company.

Network Waitaki is owned by local electricity consumers and its shares are held by the Waitaki Power Trust.

Aurora offered the money for Network Waitaki's assets only, claiming consumers could receive thousands of dollars from the sale.

That claim has been questioned, though, with one trustee saying any money from a potential sale could be held in a trust.

The company plans to make the public more aware of what it does, to counter "confusion and misunderstandings" in the community.

Board of directors chairman Lindsay Malcolm said Network Waitaki was a community asset which provided local jobs and put money back into the local economy.

"We will not be intimidated by a bigger operator in its attempts to become bigger at the expense of the local community."

If Network Waitaki was sold to Aurora, any profits would not remain in the Oamaru community but would be used to benefit the shareholders of Aurora and Dunedin, he said.

Aurora chairman Ray Polson said yesterday he was happy for the offer to lie on the table to be considered by new trustees, following elections on June 25.

- NZPA