Ruling on Rubicon bid today

By CHRIS DANIELS

Concerns about the validity of Guinness Peat Group's bid for Rubicon will be publicly addressed by the Takeovers Panel today.

The panel, which has challenged GPG's $67 million offer for Rubicon, met company representatives in Auckland yesterday and is due to announce its views on the bid this afternoon.

GPG, the corporate raider led by Sir Ron Brierley which already owns 19.9 per cent of Rubicon, last Wednesday announced an offer to pay 75c a share for 40 per cent of the Rubicon stock it did not already own or to accept fewer shares, leaving it with between 30 per cent and 50 per cent of the company.

This offer may not fit with provisions of the Takeovers Code because it contains two alternatives, the second of which is not for a fixed percentage of the company.

Another aspect of the meeting was dealing with the objections of US hedge fund Perry Corporation, which says that since its 16 per cent stake has been frozen by a High Court injunction it cannot take part in the GPG takeover offer.

GPG applied to have the Perry stake frozen pending a court case challenging the legality of Perry's July buy-up of Rubicon shares.

GPG claims that Perry disguised the extent of its holding in Rubicon.

It says Perry initially acquired 11.7 per cent and then on May 31 last year advised that its shareholding had been reduced to 4.9 per cent.

But "Perry retained a relevant interest in the shares".

GPG has asked the High Court to order Perry to forfeit all of its nearly 16 per cent stake in Rubicon, for which it paid $27 million.