Spark bags $47m after accepting ‘low ball’ offer for Hutchison shares

Spark bags $47m after accepting ‘low ball’ offer for Hutchison shares
(Image: NZME)
Staff reporters
Spark has realised A$43 million (NZ$47m) from the sale of its 10% stake in Hutchison Telecommunications Australia (HTA) – after accepting an offer that a minority HTA shareholder called “lowball”.The telco said the transaction would close in July, with the funds used to reduce debt (which increased by $297m to $2.74 billion in the first half).Spark shares were up 1.52% to $2.34 in early trading. The NZX50 was down 0.54%.On May 22, Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison launched a takeover offer for its ASX-listed subsid...