i think 23c rock bottom, page-8

re: i think 23c rock bottom..ra Funny I was just copying it.....

Nylex beaten down but there's still life in takeover talk

Shares in diversified industrial group Nylex have waned in recent weeks after rampant takeover talk turned out to be merely a plan to sell its plant-hire business to National Hire for $115 million.

Both companies count media magnate Kerry Stokes as a major shareholder, so it is a related-party transaction that needs to be approved by shareholders.

While the earlier talk centred around a bid of more than 30 ? a share, the stock is way back at 23.5 ? after the October 21 deal.

The shareholder approval documentation is not yet out, and the meeting to approve the deal won't be held until January.

Some say the takeover talk remains on the mark, but nothing is likely to happen until the plant-hire deal is voted through by shareholders in the new year.

The sale leaves the old Austrim Nylex empire once run by Alan Jackson with its core water solutions, industrial and consumer businesses. But the scepticism in the market about future acquisition makes it easy to see why the company may yet be takeover fodder.

The businesses may look attractive to other industrial groups, such as Hills Industries or GUD, but probably the biggest appetite comes from the private-equity funds and the cashboxes that are scouring the market for undergeared, unloved and vulnerable companies.