Haier will buy a 20 percent stake in Fisher & Paykel as part of capital raising, the New Zealand Herald has reported, without saying where it got the information.
Haier, China’s largest maker of refrigerators, will invest about NZ$40 million, while as much as NZ$160 million will be raised from a rights offer, the newspaper said. The new shares may be offered for as little as 35 cents each, the Herald reported.
Meanwhile shares in Fisher & Paykel have been suspended on the New Zealand stock market in anticipation of an announcement due tomorrow morning. The scuttlebutt being that the announcement incorporates the news that Haier is to buy a stake in F&P.
Managing director of Fisher & Paykel, John Bongard, made the this statement yesterday in relation to the trading halt and the imminent announcement.
“As previously announced to the market, FPA has been working with its banking syndicate with a view to refinancing the total bank debt of the Appliances Group by 29 May 2009. At the same time, FPA has been reviewing the Group’s capital structure and examining alternative sources of capital,”
“These initiatives have been subject to press speculation over the weekend. The trading halt is requested because these capital management initiatives, in their totality, remain incomplete and FPA is not currently in a position to announce these initiatives.”
The results will be confirmed officially when the announcement is made tomorrow morning.