A securities lawyer believes upcoming legislation will better protect investors who have received unsolicited low-ball offers for their shares.
The Ministry of Economic Development is expected to soon announce new measures under the Securities Markets Act.
It comes after a spate of low-ball offers in the last couple of years.
In recent weeks Australian company Stock and Share Trading has offered to buy shares from PGG Wrightson and Rural Equities investors for up to a third less than the market price.
Australia has banned such traders from accessing companies' share registers, but a partner at law firm Chapman Tripp, Roger Wallis, says New Zealand does not need to be as heavy-handed.
He says New Zealand law reformers consider that, if the investors get full disclosure and have the opportunity to withdraw their acceptance once they realise what they have agreed to accept, then that should be enough.
Mr Wallis says the Securities Market Act is likely to contain a number of provisions to protect shareholders against low-ball offers.
He says the regulations in the act are likely to require the offer to be made for a reasonable period of time and it is likely to require clear and prominent disclosure of the actual market value of the shares that might be under offer.
Mr Wallis says the act is also likely to give the investor the ability to change their mind once they get independent advice and effectively withdraw from the transaction.
