By CHRIS DANIELS
Fresh details of the proposed merger between Turners & Growers and apple exporter Enza were unveiled yesterday at the annual meeting of the former auction house.
Company chairman Tony Gibbs told shareholders in Auckland that Turners & Growers was a mature operation which could now grow only through
an increase in population and gaining market share.
"The auction process is now a thing of the past, except in the perishable flower industry," said Gibbs, who is also a director of Guinness Peat Group (GPG), the Sir Ron Brierley investment vehicle which controls Turners and Enza.
"What customers are looking for these days is certainty, consistent quality and no surprises."
Turners & Growers shares are traded on the unlisted market, but the intention is for a new entity, formed after merging with Enza, to seek full listing on the Stock Exchange.
GPG owns 100 per cent of Enza and 46 per cent of Turners.
Gibbs is the New Zealand head of GPG.
Privately owned Naboa, Ecuador's biggest banana exporter, owns 25 per cent of Turners and the balance of the shares are owned by about 800 growers.
Gibbs said the idea of incorporating Enza into Turners & Growers "makes sense from so many points of view".
Enza had a worldwide sales infrastructure, with overseas representation in all major markets, something that Turners & Growers had not ever been able to afford.
The merger would mean a growth in assets from $124 million to more than $400 million, making the new Turners & Growers a "very significant corporate".
It was logical, said Gibbs, for the new Turners & Growers/Enza company to be listed on the Stock Exchange, as this would provide all shareholders with better liquidity for their shares.
Debt could also be retired through raising new equity and to "take on several new growth opportunities currently under consideration", he said.
A meeting of shareholders to vote on whether to merge the companies will be held early next month. If approved, the new entity will be born on December 31.
Shareholders will not be paid cash for their stakes in the company, but be issued with new shares in the merged entity.
Yesterday's annual meeting of Turners & Growers shareholders was preceded by the first annual meeting of shareholders of the newly spun-off and listed Turners Auctions, New Zealand's largest car and vehicle auction company.
