By Claire Reilly
Following official confirmation yesterday that Chinese whitegoods brand Haier intends to buy out shares in Fisher & Paykel, F&P has issued a “Take No Action” statement to shareholders.
In the statement, released today to the Australian Securities Exchange, chairman of Fisher & Paykel Appliances (FPA) board of directors, Keith Turner, said that the company was awaiting a report from an independent advisor regarding the offer.
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“The board of directors of FPA excluding the two directors associated with Haier (the ‘Independent Board’)…has made no recommendation regarding this proposed offer and will not do so until a full assessment has been completed by the Independent Board and the independent adviser.
“Shareholders should wait until this report is available in October before taking any action,” said Turner.
“FPA is clearly a very desirable business and we need to ensure that value is maximised for shareholders,” he added. “We are already receiving calls from parties interested in acquiring certain FPA divisions.”
In the statement, Turner also indicated that Haier's offer was conditional on the bid price being “within or above the independent expert’s valuation range” and also on no other “superior alternatives being available for FPA and its shareholders”.