Tribe close to 90pc trigger point for Shotover Jet

By SIMON HENDERY

Listed tourism company Shotover Jet may be on course to disappear off the Stock Exchange's board after a takeover bid by the South Island's Ngai Tahu tribe came close to reaching the trigger point for full compulsory acquisition.

Ngai Tahu said yesterday it had raised its stake in Shotover Jet to 88.3 per cent from 82 per cent in September when it launched its 60c-a-share takeover offer.

The tribe's stake now falls just short of the 90 per cent level required to compulsorily acquire the holdings of all other shareholders.

However, under the "creep" provisions of the Takeovers Code, in 12 months' time Ngai Tahu will be able to reach the 90 per cent trigger point through on-market purchases.

Ngai Tahu Holdings chief executive Dr Robin Pratt did not return a call from the Business Herald yesterday. Earlier this month he said the takeover offer, which expired last Friday, would not be extended.

However, he said Ngai Tahu Holding's long-term goal was to own 100 per cent of Shotover.

Shotover Jet runs jetboat businesses on the Shotover, Dart, Kawarau and Waikato rivers, and owns the Rainbow Springs and Farm, in Rotorua, and a Fiji jetboat business.