Sirens calling for skipper Hart's Ulysses

The superyacht Ulysses owned by Graeme Hart sits on the deck of the Dockwise transport ship the Super Servant 4 at the Auckland Viaduct. Picture / Dean Purcell

Graeme Hart will be closely watching his latest float today, but this time the only cash at stake will be his own.

This morning a specialised boat transporter, newly arrived from Brisbane carrying Hart's 58m luxury yacht Ulysses, will partially submerge at Auckland's Wynyard Wharf, allowing the boat to slip from its stern.

The refloat will bring to an end a five-year saga that saw Ulysses sent for a refit in New Orleans in 2000 and then gutted by fire in 2002. The boat, reportedly now worth as much as $100 million, was then shipped to Brisbane, where Hart got it ship-shape.

Work on the Ulysses was running at a frantic pace. Builders were said to be on board the boat during the journey from Brisbane and were still putting on the finishing touches yesterday, readying the boat for delivery.

The delivery comes at an auspicious time for Hart.

He successfully floated transtasman food company Goodman Fielder on the NZX just before Christmas and, this Friday, he will close his $3.3 billion offer for forestry giant Carter Holt Harvey.

With Goodman still trading at around $2.26 on the NZX, 13c above the float price, some celebration aboard the five-deck Ulysses, now sure to be among the largest, if not the largest boat in Auckland, is warranted.

However, the jury remains out on whether Hart will be able to celebrate a full takeover of CHH as his private company, Rank, has only managed to snare just over 85.6 per cent. This is just shy of the 90 per cent threshold where he can compulsorily acquire the outstanding shares.

Over the last few weeks, CHH shares have traded above Hart's $2.50 a share offer amid expectations that he may offer more once the present bid closes. Last night, they closed down 2c at $2.57.

Observers said Hart's decision last week to close the offer this Friday, after extending it six times, reflected a determination to call investors' bluff.

He could leave the offer open until mid-February. But since CHH's shares are trading so high, small investors inclined to accept Hart's offer are more likely to accept offers on the open market.

Observers believe if Hart fails to get to 90 per cent, he will launch another offer perhaps later this year, when the high dollar and a housing downturn could weigh on CHH's earnings and investor sentiment.

* The boat transporter, the Super Servant 4, will take on several other boats when it refloats and departs on Saturday.