State Offer To Buy Renown Coal Mine

Chronicle (Levin), 6 December 1949, Page 6

State Offer To Buy Renown Coal Mine

AUCKLAND, Dec. 5. An offer by the Stato to purcliase Renown Colleries Ltd., for £186,000 has been made to the shareholders of the company and will be considered by fchem at an extraordinary general meet- ' ing in Auckland on December 14. The GovermneAt has ■ offered to purchase ordinary shares of the eompany for. 25s each and pref erenee for '3s each. In -a cireular to shareholders advising them to accept the offer, the chairman of 'directors, Mr W. F.' 35rooke-Taylor, said the directors considered it desirable and in the interests ,.of shareholders. The price ofifered was fair - reasonable. He pointed' out that the company 's production was e . falling under current labour conditions and diffieulties would be met by competition with nearby open cast and State mines m respect of labour and saies. Moreover, the guaranteed profits which the company had enjoyed since 1942 termin-ated-on July 31 and the company would face risks if future assistanee was limited to such production subsidies as thc Government might from time .to time think lit to allow. A'lthough it was raore than two years ago since directors were advised of the Government policy of nationalising coal mines, said . Mr Brooke-TayJor, it was not until December last year that aetual negotiationistarted and these negotiations hac| con tinued up to a recent date.