Crocodile tears
And you thought that the days of the Wild West were truly over? But not in New Zealand if you have been following the saga of embattled wine company Montana. Unbeknown to Lion Nathan, Montana Group chairman Peter Masfen sold his stake in the company to Allied Domecq while negotiating a sale with Lion Nathan. Is it a case of double crossing or tit for tat? After all it was Lion Nathan that supposedly breached New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZSE) rules in February when it bought a huge chunk of Montana’s share in a NZ$1 bn (US$421m) takeover battle. On 25 May, Lion Nathan held 62% of Montana, Allied Domecq, the world’s second largest drinks group, 26.7%. Allied’s deal with Masfen means that Allied can now block any major transactions planned by Lion as this would require a 75% shareholder vote.
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