latest news, page-125

corporatefile.com.au


You have advised that QBE will subscribing to a $55 million placement of Elders shares at 15 cents per share. How does this reconcile with the announcement on 31 July that QBE would be subscribing to a placement of Elders shares at a price of 40 cents per share?

CEO Malcolm Jackman

Our announcement on 31 July was that Elders and QBE had reached Heads of Agreement on a $45 million placement and the sale of our insurance operations. This announcement was subject to a number of conditions. These included commitment into a binding sale and purchase agreement by 31
August.

Since that time, our recapitalisation and refinancing evolved considerably. As we advised the ASX on 31 August, our agreement of a final contract with QBE included provision that QBE’s subscription would be on terms consistent with the recapitalisation. QBE have now committed to subscribe for an additional $10 million of shares compared to the original agreement. They are now investing $55 million in the conditional placement and following the raising will hold between 8.2 percent and 9.6 percent of the Company. We are absolutely delighted to have QBE as a cornerstone investor. To have them come in for a greater equity stake than originally envisaged reinforces
their commitment to Elders. We are also looking forward to working with QBE to further develop the insurance offering through the Elders network. The sale of the insurance
business to QBE is on track and still expected to close by 30 September.