High Court orders Bernard Whimp to give back shares

Bernard Whimp Photo / supplied

The High Court has ordered the cancellation of any agreements made to sell shares to Bernard Whimp - the man behind several "low ball" offers - after legal action from the new Financial Markets Authority (FMA).

Any shares that have already been transferred to Whimp are to be returned, the court said. The court also made orders preventing Whimp from making any further offers of this kind.

The orders relate to the various offers, made by several different entities associated with Whimp, on or around March 15 to 18 for shares in TrustPower, Vector, Guinness Peat Group, Contact Energy, DNZ Property Fund and Fletcher Building.

Some of Whimp's unsolicited offers were at rates well below the market price. Others were above the market price, although some investors did not realise the money would be paid out over the next 10 years. Many shareholders who received and accepted Whimp's offers were elderly.

FMA chief executive Sean Hughes said he was pleased the court had confirmed the authority's view that the "deferred payment" offers made by Whimp and associated entities were misleading.

"This decision means that investors should no longer be deceived by these kinds of offers," Hughes said.

"This will not only help to restore investor confidence in our financial markets, but will also send a clear message about inappropriate conduct which otherwise damages the market's reputation."

The judgment does not extend to sales of shares to Whimp as a result of the "low ball" offers he made in December 2010.