Complaint against Dorchester voting thrown out

The Takeovers Panel has dismissed a complaint by the Shareholders Association about the exercise of voting rights at Dorchester Pacific's recent annual general meeting.

The complaint centred on the exercise of voting rights by Bridgecorp Holdings and Hugh Green Investments over the appointment of board members.

Bridgecorp, which holds a 14 per cent stake in Dorchester, together with 19.8 per cent shareholder Hugh Green Investments and Stephen Underwood voted against the re-election of chairman Murray Radford and director Sir William Birch at the meeting.

Radford had been on Dorchester's board for 12 years and Sir William for four.

Peter Drummond, who was nominated by Bridgecorp, was voted in as an independent director.

Bridgecorp bought its stake in Dorchester from the company's founder Brett King in August last year.

The Shareholders Association alleged that because Bridgecorp and Hugh Green Investments voted the same way over the appointment of directors, there was some evidence they were associates for the purposes of the Takeovers Code.

The panel said if this was true it would not be a breach of the code. The Takeovers Code stops associates from buying additional voting rights, but it does not stop parties from becoming associates.

The panel said it would not take any further action on the complaint.

- NZPA