Ports deal halfway there

Auckland Regional Holdings (ARH) has half the shares it had to acquire to move to a full takeover of Ports of Auckland.

As of yesterday, holders of 5 per cent of the port company's shares had accepted the $8 a share offer, taking ARH's interest in the port to 85 per cent - just shy of the 90 per cent threshold to allow it to acquire all outstanding shares.

Still, some investors have been building stakes in the group.