By Paul McBethPeter and Anya Hutson and James Reeves latest attempt to wrest control of Abano Healthcare has failed, with the partial takeover falling well short of the 50.01 per cent level needed. The company's board recommended shareholders reject the offer and wouldn't give the Hutsons and Reeves access to its books to do due diligence, and used their dividend to offset the cost of the takeover. The Hutsons and Reeves only wanted to lift that to 50.01 per cent, meaning any acceptances above that level would have been scaled. The offer was turned down by the Abano board as being too low. Archer was refused due diligence access because it could become a direct competitor to Abano, and Peter Hutson left the board.

Source: New Zealand Herald March 05, 2017 20:15 UTC