Haier's offer 'unconditional' on NZ whiteware maker

WELLINGTON -- New Zealand foreign investment regulators have approved Chinese appliance giant Haier's proposed takeover of one of New Zealand's oldest and most reputable whiteware makers, Haier announced Wednesday.

Haier New Zealand Investment Holding Co Ltd's offer for all the shares in Fisher & Paykel Appliances Holdings Ltd was now unconditional, said a statement from Haier.

Related reading: Haier passes 50% share threshold in NZ whiteware maker

The approval of New Zealand's Overseas Investment Office was the final regulatory hurdle to be cleared for the transaction to proceed.

Liang Haishan, chairman of Haier New Zealand Investment and president of Haier White Goods Group, said Haier wanted to be very clear that it was considering no further increase to the offer price.

"The support of the Fisher & Paykel Appliances independent directors for our revised offer price, acceptances by major shareholders, and the generally positive market reaction are clear indications of the very good value of our offer," he said in a statement.

Haier said earlier Wednesday it had received approval to proceed with the transaction from the Commerce Bureau of Qingdao Municipal Government, which was the final Chinese regulatory approval required for transaction.

Earlier this month, the independent directors of Fisher & Paykel Appliances unanimously recommended shareholders to accept Haier's offer, after it was raised from the NZ$1.20 (99 US cents) a share on the table last month to NZ$1.28.

Haier already has acceptances from major shareholders, giving it a majority stake in Fisher & Payket Appliances.

Haier claimed the new offer price would represent a 71-percent premium to the pre-offer share price.

Based in Qingdao, Shandong province in China, Haier Group employs more than 80,000 people around the world and had global revenues of $23.3 billion last year.

Haier acquired 20 percent of Fisher and Paykel Appliances in 2009, establishing cooperation agreements in research and development, sourcing, manufacturing and marketing.

Fisher & Paykel Appliances Holdings, the parent company of Fisher & Paykel Appliances and Fisher and Paykel Finance, is listed on the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges and employs more than 3,300 staff worldwide.

Established in New Zealand in 1934 and first listed in 1979, the company has manufacturing plants in New Zealand, Italy, Thailand and Mexico.