Spotless pushing for all shares in Taylors

Australian-listed Spotless Group wants the third of shares it does not already own in laundry and related services company Taylors Group.

Spotless, which owns 66 per cent of the shares in Taylors, said yesterday it had given formal notice under the Takeovers Code of its intention to make a cash offer for the remaining Taylors shares.

The intended offer price was $2.08 cash per Taylors share. Taylors shareholders would also remain entitled to receive the 7c per share fully imputed final dividend, implying total value to Taylors shareholders of $2.15 per share, Spotless said.

Spotless chairman Peter Smedley said that after holding the 66 per cent shareholding in Taylors for more than 10 years, an acquisition of the minorities in Taylors was a sensible step for Spotless.

For Taylors shareholders, the opportunity to receive a major cash premium for their shares was highly attractive, particularly given the relatively low liquidity of Taylors shares, Smedley said.

Spotless was seeking a unanimous recommendation from the independent directors of the Taylors board, and expected to only proceed with the offer if such a recommendation was made.

Taylors' independent directors would obtain an independent adviser's report in relation to the offer, before making a formal recommendation to Taylors shareholders.

The $2.15 value per Taylors share represented a substantial premium for Taylors shareholders, Spotless said.

It was a 22 per cent premium to the volume-weighted average price of Taylors shares traded on NZX during the month ended on August 24.

Spotless managing director and chief executive Josef Farnik said the move would enable Spotless to manage Taylors in a more integrated, simplified manner.

Taylors was a key part of Spotless' business in New Zealand, where it employed more than 10,000 people.

Conditions on the offer include Spotless' receiving sufficient acceptances to increase its shareholding in Taylors to at least 90 per cent, and Overseas Investment Office approval.

Taylors Group shares closed steady at $2 on the NZX yesterday.

- NZPA