Adsteam Fails To Take Control Of Holyman

Tugboat operator Adsteam Marine Ltd.'s bid for Holyman Ltd. closed on Oct. 18 with shareholder acceptances falling well short of the level Adsteam needed to gain control of the shipping and transport group. While Adsteam remains the largest stakeholder with around 23.3 percent of Holyman's ordinary shares, stevedore Lang Corp. Ltd. now looks set to take control of the company with its bid of approximately $.70 a share, valuing Holyman at about $82 million. Adsteam originally offered $.46 a share for Holyman in late July before upping its hostile bid to $.52 in September and again to $.65 after Lang Corp. unveiled its interest last month. Its final offer valued Holyman at $76 million. "There was value in the acquisition for us up to A$1.00 ($.65). In looking at creating value for our shareholders, we can't see the value beyond that and that's why we didn't increase our offer," David Ryan, Adsteam's managing director, said. With around 22 percent of Holyman's converting preference shares and 68.3 percent of its listed options, Adsteam could still frustrate Lang's takeover attempts. "We have closed our offer, and we're now the major shareholder of Holyman. We'll sit back and wait for the documentation to arrive on the Lang Corp. bid and we'll assess that in the fullness of time. It's still a conditional bid," Ryan said.