KEY POINTS:
Australian firm MFS Living and Leisure is yet to talk to shareholders about its proposed offer to buy NZX-listed Tourism Holdings, but isn't ruling out raising the bid.
MFS Living chief executive Marshall Vann said the offer and an independent report from Tourism Holdings would be sent to
shareholders in the next few weeks.
"Once we have put an offer out we'll then talk to them," Vann said.
"We'll talk not only to the large owners but we'll try and contact small owners as well."
Discussions with shareholders would not be a heavy sell.
"It's more to make people aware of what we believe are the attractive parts of our offer which obviously the price is a good place to start."
ASX-listed MFS Living will offer $2.80 a share for all of Tourism Holdings but Vann did not rule out increasing the bid.
"If you look at the way [investment company] MFS has conducted itself in similar sorts of deals in Australia, we put out what we consider to be the best offer that we can make up front and then stand by it," he said.
Forsyth Barr increased its valuation from $2.58 to $3.17 after news of the offer, which it called credible but opportunistic.
Vann said: "I suppose I found some of the comments as to it's an opportunistic [offer] and doesn't reflect the true value of Tourism Holdings a little bit surprising.
"If you look at where it had been trading and what all of the broker analysts' target prices were and things like that, we're significantly above all of those.
"There were quite large increases and in the absence of an offer I wonder if they would have occurred."
The $2.80 offer valued the company at $277 million and was a 29 per cent premium above a five trading day volume weighted average price.
Vann, 48, is an accountant by profession. He has previously worked for Bendigo and Elders Rural Bank.
The takeover
* MFS Living and Leisure Group is offering $2.80 a share for all of Tourism Holdings.
The company
* ASX-listed MFS Living and Leisure is part of a group which includes a property trust.
* A $3 billion Australian investment and fund management company, MFS, manages the trust.
* MFS is a 19.7 per cent shareholder in MFS Living and Leisure Group.
* MFS recently bought travel and property company S8 - which last year took over NZX-listed Gullivers Travel.
