GRD to sell-down its stake in OceanaGold

Construction and development group GRD Ltd intends to sell down 180 million shares in its New Zealand gold mining subsidiary OceanaGold, now reducing its stake from 56.94 per cent to 6.94 per cent.

GRD have appointed Macquarie Equity Capital Markets Ltd to undertake the sale.

The sell-down would allow GRD to focus on its Minproc engineering business and its Global Renewables waste management business.

Last month, GRD appointed former premier Richard Court as chairman, following the decision by Brettney Fogarty to step down from that role, though he remains a non-executive director.

Mr Fogarty's decision comes less than a month after he quit the CEO position of the company he founded, ending his reign as one of the few remaining executives holding both the chairman and managing director roles, a practice increasingly frowned upon in contemporary corporate governance.

Mr Court has been appointed as the chairman-elect until the AGM, scheduled for Monday May 29 2006.