RAINBOW SAYS BRIERLEY UPSETTING PROGRESSIVE MERGER
<Rainbow Corp Ltd> said <Brierley
Investments Ltd> (BIL) is trying to disrupt Rainbow's planned
merger with <Progressive Enterprises Ltd>.
    Rainbow chairman Allan Hawkins said in a statement, "In our
opinion BIL have deliberately tried to create anomalies in the
market prices of Rainbow and Progressive shares since the
merger was announced."
    The merger, announced in February, involves the formation
of a new company, <Astral Pacific Corp Ltd>, which Rainbow and
Progressive shareholders will enter into on a one-for-one share
basis. Both boards have approved the merger.
    BIL has said it was the mystery bidder behind a recent
stand in the market for three mln Progressive shares.
    "We simply regard Progressive Enterprises shares to be worth
approximately twice as much as Rainbow shares and do not think
the merger, as proposed, is soundly based," BIL chief executive
Paul Collins said in an interview in the weekly National
Business Review newspaper published today.
    Collins was not immediately available to respond directly
to Hawkins' statement.
    Hawkins said the merger has been assessed by independent
consultants and declared fair in all respects, with benefits to
all shareholders.
    "We are not going to stand by while other parties distort
the picture for their own strategic purposes and distract the
market away from the real benefits of the merger," he said.
    "In our opinion, BIL's actions are clearly not designed to
be in the long term interests of either Progressive or Rainbow
shareholders," Hawkins said.
 Reuter
