Mystery buyer goes for PDL

A mystery buyer is looking to snap up 15 per cent of Christchurch-based electronics firm PDL Holdings.

A Wellington shareholder in the company said last night that he had been invited to sell his shares for $5.20 a share, a premium of $1.30 on the closing price of $3.90.

Broker Forsyth Barr was acting for the buyer, the shareholder said.

Forsyth Barr managing director Neil Paviour-Smith would not say who the buyer was and whether that party already had a stake in PDL.

"In the circumstances I'm not able to comment," he said.

"There will be a statement released in due course - possibly Tuesday."

It was not a takeover bid, Mr Paviour-Smith said. That would have to go through the stock exchange.

PDL went through a shakeup 18 months ago after being badly hit by the Asian financial crisis.

That brought the exit of long-time chief executive Don Sollitt and several other managers, and the sale of an Asian operation and the company's corporate jet.

PDL had total sales in the half-year to last September of $186 million and a net profit of $3.18 million.

In recent months the company has changed focus from being manufacturing-dominated to concentrating more on researching and developing new technologies.

- NZPA