Comparable valuation takes New Zealand merger forward
NEW ZEALAND –, The merger between New Zealand Dairy Group (NZDG) and Kiwi Co-operative Dairies moved one step forward this week when an independent consultancy valued both companies to be of comparable worth.
The valuation, carried out by international consultancy Arthur Andersen, was the first to be undertaken by impartial experts. Having reviewed all the relevant information and tested it for accuracy and comparability, analysts found the two companies to be so close in valuation that they could not be separated. This not only avoids the complication of one business having to make cash payments to the shareholders of the other, but also means both parties will enter the new company as equal partners.
Henry van der Heyden, chairman of NZDG, said the valuation showed that both companies had continued to improve their respective performances and that having two strong companies going into the merger could only be good news.
*Meanwhile, NZDG’s board of directors has formally accepted the resignation of directors Graham Fraser and Brian Allison.
The directors’ decisions to quit were signalled in December when NZDG and Kiwi Co-operative Dairies first came to a merger agreement. At the time, Fraser announced his intention to step down as NZDG director and chairman of the New Zealand Dairy Board. Allison, too, announced his departure as chairman of New Zealand Dairy Foods and as director of NZDG.
Fraser’s resignation was effective as of last week, with Mike Smith, currently a non-executive director of several listed companies, taking over. Allison’s resignation took effect yesterday although no replacement has yet been named.
