It took just over an hour yesterday for Tower Corporation to clear the final legal hurdle in its marathon effort to demutualise.
The final hurdle was cleared when the High Court in Wellington gave its approval to the demutualisation plans.
The plans were earlier approved by unitholders at special meetings in Wellington over a month ago. At those meetings approval levels ran around the 98 per cent mark.
While the court sanction was almost a foregone conclusion it ends a long-running legal battle which began when Tyndall Australia (previously owned by Guinness Peat Group) attempted a forced marriage with Tower. That option failed and Tyndall has subsequently been bought by Royal & SunAlliance.
Tower plans to issue a prospectus in July.
Managing director James Boonzaier says the company will have a market capitalisation of about $1 billion and the demutualisation scheme is on schedule to be completed by the end of September with listing in October.
It took just over an hour yesterday for Tower Corporation to clear the final legal hurdle in its marathon effort to demutualise.