GPG Rubicon request going out on Friday

By CHRIS DANIELS

Guinness Peat Group will send its takeover request to Rubicon shareholders on Friday, despite initially complaining that this was too late.

The corporate raider has offered 75c a share for the 40 per cent of Rubicon it does not already own. This would take its stake in the forestry/biotech company to a little over 50 per cent.

Its takeover offer is conditional on its getting at least half of the company's shares.

Rubicon announced the Friday delivery of the offer yesterday, saying GPG had agreed to dispatch at this time.

GPG director Tony Gibbs said last week that the Rubicon board was deliberately frustrating attempts to get the takeover offer to its shareholders.

But the Rubicon board said it was in the best interests of shareholders to receive the formal offer, a report from the independent directors and a valuation from Grant Samuel all at once.

They would all be ready to send to shareholders this Friday.

GPG is going to court next week in an attempt to prove that giant US hedge fund Perry Corporation broke the rules when it bought its 16 per cent stake in Rubicon earlier this year.

Perry's shares are frozen by a court order, making it unable to dispose of its shares until the court case is over.