6 May 2011

The Financial Markets Authority (FMA) has today ordered Mr Bernard Whimp and associated persons to include a warning from FMA at the beginning of any unsolicited offer they may make.

The order can be found at www.fma.govt.nz. The order requires that:

• any offer document containing an unsolicited offer by Mr Whimp, a number of limited partnerships associated with Mr Whimp (the Whimp partnerships), or any associated persons must contain, at the beginning of that offer document, a warning statement in the form attached to the order (warning statement);
• the warning statement must be printed in a particular font size, colour and layout,
• Mr Whimp and the Whimp partnerships must provide a copy of the order to their associated persons.

“One of FMA’s principal objectives is to ensure New Zealanders have the information and resources they need to make sound investment decisions,” said FMA CEO Sean Hughes.

“This order is intended to ensure any person who who receives an offer from Mr Whimp or his associates to buy their shares or other securities will have the information they need to decide if that offer is in their best financial interests.”

While Mr Whimp has previously made offers to shareholders in NZX listed companies, this warning applies to any future unsolicited offers. This would include shares or any other securities, such as an investor’s stake in a finance company.

ENDS