KEY POINTS:
Sir Ron Brierley's Guinness Peat Group has gained from the takeover activity surrounding Australian retailer Coles.
GPG has a 16 per cent stake in Premier Investments which yesterday announced the A$1.1 billion ($1.25 billion) sale of its 6 per cent Coles stake.
Premier said it had sold its holding in two tranches, the first in a 34 million-share parcel, equivalent to 2.9 per cent of Coles, at A$16.47 each, in an unconditional agreement.
The balance is to be sold, subject to inevitable shareholder approval later this month, if the Australian Securities Exchange requires it, The Australian newspaper reported today.
Premier gets to keep the A19.5c interim dividend declared by Coles, and will participate in any upside if there is a later, higher bid.
Sir Ron, Premier's chairman, said "you'd have to assume" that some of the surplus funds would be returned to shareholders.
He said Monday's "outstanding" result from the sale of Premier's entire Coles stake was partly explained by Premier's unique structure, where shareholders and the board were able to work closely together.
"But that's all about a set of circumstances that came together," he said.
"It can't be artificially created."
Australian businessman Solomon Lew owns 52.4 per cent of Premier and trucking magnate Lindsay Fox has a 6 per cent holding.
The Dominion Post reported today that GPG's holding in Premier had increased in value by A$14 million yesterday alone, following news of the Coles deal.
In this country Coles operates 11 K-mart discount stores.
- NZPA
