AMP Capital Investors NZ Ltd has waived its pre-emptive right to buy the units Australian takeover target Ronin Property Trust holds in the AMP NZ Office Trust.
The pre-emptive rights are among numerous pre-emptive clauses in a deed settled when AMP Capital & Ronin became 50% shareholders in AMP Ronin Management Ltd in January.
Multiplex Ltd is most of the way towards succeeding in its takeover offer for Ronin – it had 78.92% on Friday – and will be able to assume ownership of the units plus Ronin’s management role at the AMP office trust.
AMP Capital had previously owned the whole of the management company.
The deed required Ronin to hold no less than 19.9% of AMP NZ Office Trust for 2 years – to 15 January 2006 – and at least 15% after that. If it went below the thresholds it would have to offer the remaining units to AMP Capital.
Given that Multiplex began its bid by acquiring the 15.7% interest of AMP Life Ltd, the pre-emptive rights hardly seemed an issue. Last year it was a different story: AMP Life fought Centro Property Group’s bid for the AMP Shopping Centres Trust in Australia, disclosing after the bid began that it held various pre-emptive rights which it was unwilling to give up.
Centro eventually lost that bid, but got some shopping centres in the wash-up after Westfield Group bought the AMP trust.
Earlier stories:
5 November 2004: Multiplex goes unconditional on Ronin bid
28 September 2004: NZ assets a major feature of Multiplex bid for Ronin
18 December 2003: Ronin to take most of National Provident’s AMP NZ Office stake, half of trust management
20 May 2003: AMP Life throws another spanner at Centro takeover bid