Archive | Australasian Property Holdings

Published 15 May 2006

Australasian Property Holdings Group Ltd’s reverse takeover by ICP Holdings Ltd has been completed, turning it from an investor in a resort development in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney into a participant in the international biotechnology sector.

The listed company will change its name to ICP Biotechnology Ltd on Wednesday, 17 May.Australasian Property Holdings executive chairman Tracey Lake & director Lawrence Chartres have resigned. Replacing them are independent chairman Roger Gower, managing director Earl Stevens & independent non-executive director Alistair Ward.

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Attribution: Company statement, story written by Bob Dey for this website.

Published 23 April 2006

Shareholders of Australasian Property Holdings Ltd will meet on Friday 4 May to vote on a proposal for the reverse takeover of the company by ICP Holdings Ltd.

If the resolution is approved, the former property company will be renamed ICP Biotechnology Ltd. Dr Earl Stevens & family interests will own 41.9% and Dr Stevens will be managing director.

Australasian Property Holdings’ interest for several years has been a retirement village development in the Blue Mountains near Sydney.

A report by Horwath Porter Wigglesworth Ltd, released this week, said the ICPbio acquisition for $12 million was fair, based in ICPbio’s projected earnings & cashflows.The report put the equity value of ICPbio at $10.5-13 million and the enterprise value at $25.1-27.6 million.ICPbio has been manufacturing since 1983 and operates from purpose-built production facilities in West Auckland. It leverages New Zealand’s clean, green disease-free status to manufacture intermediate products from animal products.It’s forecasting $22.8 million revenue & $2.1 million net aftertax operating profit for the March 2007 year.

Earlier stories:

26 January 2006: Slight change to Australasian Property’s reverse takeover by ICPBio28 October 2005: Australasian Property negotiates Katoomba sale, weighs up restructure

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Attribution: Company statement, story written by Bob Dey for this website.

Published 25 January 2006

Australasian Property Holdings Group Ltd’s direction change – out of property, into biotechnology, announced on 22 December – has taken a slightly different course from the original proposal.

The company has cancelled a rights issue but still plans to consolidate its shares before implementing a reverse takeover. However, there’s a complication for the sale of its property assets – its joint-venture partner has called receivers into a subsidiary which owns some of the project development land.

The company began life as Petro Taranaki in 1983, became Areco NL in 1986, Leisure Lea Corp NL in 1997 and Australasian Property in 2001. For a large part of that time it’s been listed in New Zealand but owned property assets in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney.

Directors announced the conditional heads of agreement, to buy all the shares of the ICP Biotechnology Group Ltd (a company yet to be formed) & its subsidiaries, in December then, on 13 January, proposed a 3:1 renounceable pro rata rights issue at 2c/right for up to 183.1 million new shares to be issued at 20c/share.

The directors then intended to consolidate the company’s shares on a ratio of about 1:10-12 before issuing shares to ICP Bio’s shareholders.

But today they said they’d cancelled the rights issue so shareholders could first vote on the proposals to dispose of existing assets and buy ICP Bio.

Australasian Property will now carry out a 1:3 consolidation before the acquisition, for which the consideration has been set at $16.3 million, to be satisfied by the allotment of 81.8 million shares at 20c.

Australasian Property has appointed Horwarth Porter Wigglesworth Ltd to prepare an independent advisor’s report, but still requires Takeovers Panel approval for that appointment. The company hasn’t yet set a date for the necessary special meeting to approve the transactions.

The reverse takeover will see the departure of Australian directors Tracey Lake & Lawrence Chartres from the Australasian Property board after 14 years with the company. More recently appointed local directors Roger Gower & Alistair Ward will stay on, Mr Gower as independent chairman & Mr Ward as an independent director.Australasian Property said while negotiations continued with potential purchasers, project financiers & joint-venture partner Reed Constructions Australia Pty Ltd for the sale of all or part of their Blue Mountains project, Reed had appointed a receiver to one of the group subsidiaries, Numarra Pty Ltd, which owns part of the development project land.

On the other side of the deal, existing company ICPBio Ltd manufactures, markets & distributes internationally a range of proprietary bio-technology media & products, principally used in animal health, veterinary & human pharmaceuticals. Its management team will continue with the listed company in its new guise.

ICP bio’s directors are investment banker Tony Hannon (son-in-law of land developer Ian Gillespie) & Earl Stevens.

Companies Office documents show its 6 million shares are held it 2 tranches by Bio-strategy Bio-tech Ltd, which in turn is owned by Bio-strategy Partners Ltd. Ultimate shareholders are Earl & Tracey Stevens, Graeme Thompson of Whangaparaoa and Intellectual Capital Partners Ltd (formerly I-cap Partners Ltd). Mr Hannon holds an interest in I-cap, along with Lindsay Lloyd of Christchurch, Nicholas Lodge of Dubai, David Teece & Lloyd Investments Ltd of Berkeley, California, & FWU AG of Munich.

Mr Hannon’s directorships include Auckland Bridge Climb Ltd, Basin Properties Ltd, Canterbury NZ Ltd, Endeavour Foundation Ltd, Jade Software Corp Ltd, Oceanic Insurance Ltd, Radius Health Group Ltd, Rodney Wayne Ltd, Treble Cone Investments Ltd & Woosh Wireless Ltd. He’s a former director of 4WD Experience (NZ) Ltd (in receivership), Bancorp NZ Ltd, Northplan Financial Services Ltd & Savoy Equities Ltd.

Mr Stevens is a director of the Bio-strategy companies, Gene Expression Ltd, Kendro Instruments NZ Ltd, Kendro Laboratory Products Ltd & Partnar Animal Health Ltd.

Earlier stories:

28 October 2005: Australasian Property negotiates Katoomba sale, weighs up restructure

7 July 2004: Australasian Property Holdings gets new Katoomba completion venture

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Attribution: Company statements, story written by Bob Dey for this website.

Published 27 October 2005

Struggling small New Zealand-listed property company Australasian Property Holdings Group Ltd’s directors said today they were negotiating to sell the group’s interest in The Escarpments development project at Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney.

The directors also made a placement of just under 8 million shares at NZ6c/shares (for just under $480,000) to pay the project architect. This was in accordance with the development agreement and was provided for as a liability in the accounts.

The board said it was evaluating a number of new projects & business opportunities, including a capital-raising as part of a recapitalisation & restructure of the group.A number of major shareholders & directors, some of them lenders to the group, have agreed to continue their support of the company during the restructuring & recapitalisation period.

Australasian Property Holdings’ shares have been suspended from trading since 10 October because the company failed to supply NZX with its annual report. The company said on 30 September its report would be late because of a review of the group, coming out on 31 October with notice of the annual meeting to be held on 30 November.

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Published 10 October 2005

Update: Australasian Property Holdings Group Ltd securities were suspended from trading today as the company still hadn’t filed its annual report, due on 30 September with 5 days’ leeway allowing for late filing.  

Original story: Australasian Property misses annual report deadline

Published 4 October 2005

Australasian Property Holdings Group Ltd is one of 3 companies which have failed to get their annual reports to 30 June into NZX & to securityholders by the 30 September deadline.

The others are Pacific Print Group Ltd & Sapphire Securities Ltd.

Their securities will be suspended from trading if the reports aren’t filed by the close of business this Friday, 7 October.

Pacific Print Group got its report in today and said it would have it out to shareholders by Thursday.

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Australasian Property Holdings Ltd provided NZX with its annual report today, so the suspension of trading in its shares will be lifted from Monday 18 October.

The exchange suspended trading in the shares on 7 October after Australasian Property Holdings failed to provide its annual report by the due date of 30 September.

The company has a development project at Katoomba in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney.

Earlier story: Update 7 October 2004: NZX suspends Australasian Property Holdings

NZX Regulation suspended trading in Australasian Property Holdings Ltd shares today because of the company’s failure to provide the exchange with its annual report by 30 September.

Trading in Pure NZ Ltd shares was similarly suspended today.

Original story, 4 October 2004: Australasian Property Holdings misses annual report deadline

Australasian Property Holdings Ltd failed to provide the NZX with its annual report by 30 September and will be suspended from trading if it doesn’t comply by Wednesday 6 October.

Pure NZ Ltd also hasn’t provided its annual report, and Certified Organics Ltd failed to provide its half-year report, with the same consequences.

Australasian Property Holdings has a development project at Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales.

Australasian Property Holdings Group Ltd, a small property company listed in New Zealand but involved in developing the escarpments project at Katoomba, in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney, has executed a heads of agreement with Reed Property Services Pty Ltd for a 50:50 joint venture on the remaining 86 dwellings.

Reed will provide subordinated loan funds & project management expertise in return for a development fee.

The joint venture, Katoomba Escarpments Estate Pty Ltd, will take over the 2 remaining development lots from an Australasian Property Holdings subsidiary, settling by Thursday 22 July, which assigned its purchase option.

The joint venture has to complete golfcourse works & repay part of the existing development loans.

One of the stories below refers to suspension in trading in the company’s shares on 21 April. Trading resumed on 30 April.

Earlier stories:

29 April 2004: Australasian Property Holdings defers some preference share redemptions

21 April 2004: NZX suspends Australasian Property Holdings trading

Australasian Property Holdings Group Ltd is withholding repayment of principal on some convertible cumulative redeemable preference shares until 14 May, when it’s obliged to complete certain works in its Escarpments project in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney.

The New Zealand-listed company said today it was prudent to withhold the money to ensure it had sufficient reserves to meet any project contingencies. But the principal sums withheld would continue to accrue interest at 8%.

Investors will be given the exact new redemption date after 14 May.

Holders of 89,664 preference shares took up the offer to convert to ordinary shares (converting at 5:1, 20c an ordinary share) and those shares were allocated on 21 April.Australasian Property Holdings Group has accepted the request of 4 former holders of 103,800 preference shares who elected not to convert, to defer repayment until September, with interest accruing.

Some preference shareholders who requested repayment were sent cheques on 22 April.

As a result of today’s announcement the suspension of trading in the company’s securities – since 21 April – has been lifted.

NZX suspended trading in the securities of Australasian Property Holdings Group Ltd this afternoon (1.58pm, Wednesday 21 April) “as NZX considers that a false market in APH securities exists.”

The exchange said it was working with Australasian Property Holdings to provide full & complete disclosure, and trading would remain suspended until NZX was satisfied the market was fully informed.