New Plymouth Mayor Peter Tennent told EnergyReview.Net this morning that he was confident the panel’s investigation would find no duplicity in the council’s deal - brokered by its advisor PricewaterhouseCoopers, for Sydney broker Tricom Equities to buy “excess” Prime bonds.

“To describe yesterday’s (closed) meeting with the panel in Auckland as a grilling is an overstatement. No major issues were raised and we expect the panel to give its report within 48 hours or so,” said Tennent before flying to Britain for the Opportunities New Zealand Expo in London and talks with “sister city” Plymouth.

The takeovers panel has said the NPDC-Tricom deal might breach the takeover code if it is found to be unfair to other Powerco shareholders. Media reports have also said there is a direct association between Prime, its parent company investment bank Babcock & Brown, and Tricom. Tricom was a co-lead manager of Babcock & Brown’s recent share float, and is itself a minority shareholder in Brisbane-based Prime.

However, commentators say finance-investment companies may often have links to a myriad of listed corporates - a recent example being Tower New Zealand holding a 15% stake in NGC. “Despite all they say about avoiding conflicts of interest you just have to take that into account when considering their advice,” said one commentator.

The New Plymouth District Council, Taranaki Electricity Trust and Powerco Wanganui Trust have formally accepted Prime’s offer for their combined 53.65% stake in Powerco, with payment being the desired 62.5% cash-37.5% Prime bonds mix.