Shares in New Zealand's largest listed company Fletcher Building have been placed on a trading halt pending a material announcement by the company.
Crane Group, an Australian rival which FBL hopes to buy outright, on Wednesday described Fletcher's bid as unfair and unreasonable.
Crane says a report commissioned by Ernst & Young to appraise the bid values the company at between $A9.92 to $A11.56 Australian per share, roughly 14% higher than Fletcher's offer, which it values at between $A9.05 to $A9.45 per share.
The report by Ernst & Young is not being sent to shareholders until next week, but Crane says it concludes the offer is neither fair nor reasonable.
Fletcher Building says it will not comment on the issue, until it has reviewed the full appraisal report and worked out how the value was calculated.
