Rank on verge of delisting Carter Holt

Billionaire Graeme Hart is in a position to compulsory acquire minorities in Carter Holt Harvey, the fourth largest stock listed on NZX with a market capitalisation of $3.58 billion.

Mr Hart's investment vehicle, Rank Group today issued a substantial security holder notice stating it had 93.79 per cent of Carter Holt. Its $2.75 per share bid closed yesterday.

Carter Holt makes up more than 5 per cent of the sharemarket's current $66.6 billion market capitalistion.

Rank was not immediately available to comment.

On Friday, it reached the 90 per cent threshold required to trigger a compulsory acquisition of all minority shareholdings.

NZX spokeswoman Rowan MacRae said Rank had 20 days from that date to either announce its intention to compulsorily acquire the shares, or allow shareholders to sell their shares into the offer.

Under the Takeovers Code, unless Rank picked up at least half of the shares that were outstanding when it launched its $2.75 offer, shareholders controlling more than 10 per cent of the outstanding shares could have requested an independent valuation of the company.

When it launched its $2.75 per share offer, Rank owned 85.7 per cent. That meant Rank had to get more than 92.85 per cent of the company to prevent a fresh valuation.

Around 5 million Carter Holt shares worth $2 million changed hands yesterday.

The NZX announced yesterday Carter Holt would be removed from the benchmark top 50 index on Monday due to its reduced liquidity. It would continue trading on the broader market.

- NZPA