Carter Holt to delist from exchange next week

Carter Holt Harvey will cease trading on the stock exchange next Monday, as Graeme Hart's Rank group moves towards gaining full control of the company.

Rank passed the 90 per cent threshold needed to force compulsory acquisition of all outstanding Carter Holt shares last Friday. The $2.75 a share takeover offer closes tomorrow.

Carter Holt's departure will speed up New Zealand Refining's promotion to the top 50 index.

NZX announced last week that NZ Refining would join the top 50 in April, to replace AXA Asia Pacific Holdings which is being delisted from the New Zealand market.

Carter Holt's departure will open up another space in the benchmark index, which will be filled by Skellerup Holdings.

Skellerup will rank around 48th in the NZX 50 Index.

- NZPA