Haier to take a controlling stake in New Zealand's Fisher and Paykel
18 Oct 2012
Chinese appliance maker Haier will take a controlling stake in New Zealand's Fisher and Paykel Appliances Ltd after some institutional investors accepted its sweetened its offer.
In September, Haier, which already owns 20 per cent of Fisher and Paykel, had offered to pay NZ$1.20 ($0.97) a share in cash for the remaining 80 per cent, valuing the Auckland-based kitchen and appliance maker at NZ$869 million ($710.36 million).
Fund manager Allan Gray, which owns 17.46 per cent of Fisher & Paykel, had supported the deal, but other institutional investors were seeking a higher bid.
Haier raised its offer by 6.7 per cent to NZ$1.28 a share which now values the company at around NZ$927 million ($760 million).
Haier said the Accident Compensation Corp with 7.2 per cent stake, AMP Capital with 4.5 per cent and Harbour Asset Management with 2.4 per cent stake, have agreed to tender their shares to the sweetened offer.
Haier had acquired the stake in Fisher & Paykel in 2009 for around $65 million, and received the right to sell Fisher & Paykel's products in China, while Fisher & Paykel acquired the right to sell Haier appliances in New Zealand, Australia and Ireland.
