ASIC warns on unsolicited share offers
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) has warned investors to watch out for unsolicited share offers following its stop order against Hassle Free Share Sales.
ASIC issued a stop order against the company based on concerns that some of the statements in its share offer documents were misleading, deceptive or worded unclearly.
Hassle Free Share Sales, one of 10 companies owned by Australian businessman David Tweed, made offers between 1 July and 3 September, 2010, to buy shares in AMP and AXA Asia Pacific below their market value.
An example included an offer by the company of $1,589 for 641 AXA shares, which was $1,850 less than their market value at that time.
ASIC has expressed concerns over investors receiving unsolicited share offers because “many such investors may own shares from past demutualisations and may have little experience in understanding what their shares are worth or how to deal with them”.
At the same time, AMP has urged its shareholders to reject Hassle Free Share Sales’ offers, informing them they might have the right to refuse to transfer their shares or ask for their shares to be returned if they received an offer between 1 July and 3 September.
AMP chief financial officer Paul Leaming said with frequent changes to share prices, it is easy for investors to get confused about the value of their shares.
“We strongly urge our shareholders to reject this current offer and to always carefully investigate any offer for their AMP shares,” Leaming said.
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