KEY POINTS:
For the second time this month, Australian sharemarket predator David Tweed is targeting New Zealand investors.
Letters to BHP Billiton shareholders from Tweed's New Zealand registered company Colonial Capital Corporation offer to pay $72 a share - more than $20 above the current market value. However, full payment for the shares would be spread out over 18 years at a rate of $4 a year.
Accepting the offer also appears to give Colonial Capital the option to amend the payment terms.
A spokesperson for BHP Billiton pointed the Business Herald to a response from the company's chairman, Don Argus, to a similar offer by Tweed, targeting Australians last year. Argus then advised shareholders to carefully check the terms and conditions of the offer, the current market value of the shares and to seek the advice of a broker or financial adviser.
"It concerns me that shareholders may unknowingly accept an offer for their BHP Billiton shares that substantially undervalues their shareholding, so if you do receive such an offer, please check it carefully," said Argus.
Last week the Business Herald reported on a similar offer made to shareholders of AXA Asia Pacific.
Colonial Capital Corporation would purchase their shares for $12 per share, around $3 more than the current market price for the shares, with annual instalments of 80c a share spread over 15 years.
