tmmonline.nz  |   landlords.co.nz        About Good Returns  |  Advertise  |  Contact Us  |  Terms & Conditions  |  RSS Feeds

NZ's Financial Adviser News Centre

GR Logo
Last Article Uploaded: Friday, March 29th, 10:40AM

Investments

rss
Latest Headlines

Hotchin denies his campaign linked to $5m dispute

Hanover director and shareholder Mark Hotchin says his current media campaign against Allied Farmers has nothing to do with the $5 million payment Allied is refusing to hand over.

Monday, February 21st 2011, 6:09AM

by Jenny Ruth

The parties are due in court over this dispute on February 24.

"Unfortunately, that's a fairly easy conclusion to draw," Hotchin says. "Our intention is not to try and take $5 million out of that business, particularly while it's vulnerable, and see the investors even more disadvantaged," he says.

Rather, "we need to defend the allegations by Allied against us." Allied accuses Hanover of "serious breaches" of the sale agreement and is using that as its reason for refusing to make the payment.

Hotcin says if he and partner Eric Watson win this particular battle, "we're working on a structure that will help deal with the $5 million so that it doesn't have an impact on the current investors."

Hotchin says he and Watson are easy targets for Allied. "Because we're such an easy target, nobody's looking at Allied."

Hotchin is accusing Allied Farmers of mismanaging the Hanover assets it gained from a debt-for-equity swap in late 2009. He is also accusing Allied managing director Rob Alloway of "a very deliberate and orchestrated campaign" to deflect media attention away from Allied's mismanagement of the Hanover assets and is demanding Alloway be sacked.

He says Alloway is "so heavily conflicted" because, under the sale agreement, if on June 30 this year there is any shortfall between the actual value of the Hanover assets and the $396.2 million ascribed to them, Allied's pre-existing shareholders will be issued with bonus shares.

Allied's last annual report says: "The conversion will be calculated such that Allied Farmers' shareholders aggregate shareholding in the parent is increased to what it would have been immediately after the proposal as if the assets had been transferred at the ascribed value as at 30 June, 2011."

"Every dollar that gets written down, he gets more shares," Hotchin says. The annual report shows Alloway had an indirect interest in 5.4 million Allied shares at June 30 last year.

Hotchin says he and Watson agreed to that clause on the advice of their advisers. "Nobody could imagine a write-off anything like this," he says.

"They keep saying we sold them a pup. They came to us and made an offer. At the time, we thought it was a bit low but that was their estimation of the value."

 

« Litmus test for South Canterbury as key business up for saleFinance coys join banks in short-term deposit war »

Special Offers

Commenting is closed

 

print

Printable version  

print

Email to a friend
Today's Best Bank Rates
Rabobank 5.25  
Based on a $50,000 deposit
More Rates »
News Bites
Latest Comments
Subscribe Now

Deposit Rates newsletter

Previous News

MORE NEWS»

Most Commented On
About Us  |  Advertise  |  Contact Us  |  Terms & Conditions  |  Privacy Policy  |  RSS Feeds  |  Letters  |  Archive  |  Toolbox  |  Disclaimer
 
Site by Web Developer and eyelovedesign.com