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New Zealand family-owned jeweller James Pascoe looks set to take over rival Australian firm Angus & Coote in a deal it says will make it the largest jeweller in Australasia.
The 292 Angus & Coote stores combined with 160 Prouds stores it already owns would give the company 452 jewellery outlets in Australia, a James Pascoe spokesman said.
Combined with its ownership of the 59 Farmers department stores and 56 jewellery operations in New Zealand, James Pascoe is significant in the Australasian retail sector.
The company is privately owned by David Norman and his wife Anne. It owns Stewart Dawsons and Pascoes in New Zealand and the Prouds chain in Australia and New Zealand.
Last week James Pascoe offered A$6.40 a share for Angus & Coote - a 36 per cent premium on the share price on November 16 that values the company at $76 million.
Coote family interests, which have a 60 per cent stake of the Australian jeweller, said it would accept the bid subject to no better offer being made.
The deal requires 90 per cent support before it is compulsory and will be considered by the Australian regulators, the ACCC and the Foreign Investment Review Board.
James Pascoe signalled its interest in Angus & Coote in August when it snared an 11.2 per cent stake.
The merger will mark the meeting of two retail institutions on each side of the Tasman and marks a period when Angus & Coote has had a difficult year.
The group recorded an after-tax loss of A$3.8 million on revenue of A$227.1 million this year, down from A$245.4 million last year.
Angus & Coote chairman Tony Coote is the grandson of the firm's founder, who established it in 1895. And David Norman's wife Anne is a grand-daughter of James Pascoe who formed the New Zealand company in 1906.
David Norman said the deal would create a leading transtasman speciality jewellery retailer.
