For immediate release
Friday 12 October, 2001

Edison Mission Energy To Seek 100 Percent Of Contact

Edison Mission Energy, the owner of 51% of Contact Energy Ltd, has today announced its intention to offer $3.85 a share for the remaining shares in the company, at a total cost of approximately $1.08 billion.

“We believe $3.85 is a full and fair price, providing shareholders with a very good return and making it attractive for them to sell,” Robert Driscoll, Edison Mission Energy’s Asia Pacific Senior Vice President, said in Wellington today.

“For people that invested in Contact at the float in 1999, the offer represents a total return of 35% on the listing price of $3.10, including dividends paid by Contact. It is 40 cents above Contact’s share price at yesterday’s close.

“Independent directors of Contact Energy will now consider our offer and appoint an independent adviser to report to them on it. It is our hope their evaluation of our offer will be able to be sent to shareholders with our formal offer by early November. Shareholders will only have to November 30 to consider our offer, along with the independent directors’ evaluation, and respond to it. Our aim is for the offer to be completed and for shareholders to be paid by mid-December.

“We make long-term commitments to the countries in which we operate,” Mr Driscoll said. “We thoroughly assessed the country’s political, economic and commercial characteristics.

“EME is confident that New Zealand’s political and economic climate, environmental policy and regulatory regime for the electricity industry are positive for long-term investment and we are confident Contact will continue to be a top-performing company.”

Mr Driscoll said that Contact’s customers would notice very little change, with Edison Mission Energy being committed to offering them the best possible pricing and service to ensure real competition in the electricity and gas markets.

END

Gordon Campbell: On John Key’s Agenda For The Nation

There seemed to be three main components to John Key’s speech :

a) tax cuts largely paid for by a hike in GST
b) mining in national parks and on conservation land, while building more roads.
c) giving firms easier access to the r&d from Crown Research Institutes, so that business can continue to get the taxpayer to pick up the tab for the research that keeps them competitive.

After all, corporate welfare is always such a blessed thing – its only social welfare that corrodes enterprise and ambition. More>>