SASKATOON – It now looks like it will be December at the earliest before Saskatchewan Wheat Pool is ready to sell shares to the public.
“If we have a good early harvest like last year, we could probably start the process and be on to the market before the end of the year,” said pool president Leroy Larsen. “It’s a little premature to decide that, but that’s our hope right now.”
Bad weather and a weak stock market have conspired to push the date of the equity conversion and proposed public offering well beyond the company’s original schedule, he said.
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Last winter, the pool said it hoped to conduct the in-house trading period before spring seeding. After the provincial legislature approved changes to the SWP act in mid-March, the company said it hoped to begin the in-house trading right after seeding.
“Summer is now pretty well out of the question,” Larsen said in an interview following his appearance before an international conference of co-operatives. “With the kind of a spring we’ve had, people are still trying to get seeding done and it’s going to be a busy month ahead of us. The window is almost closed.”
Plan could be derailed
When the plan to convert members’ equity into stock and enter the stock exchange was approved by delegates last summer, Larsen said if more than about one-third of the membership wanted to sell their shares during in-house trading, the entire plan could be derailed.
Last week, the pool president rejected suggestions the delay is due to a majority of members telling the pool they want to sell their shares.
He said many members are reluctant to make a firm commitment until they get more detailed information about the conversion, especially the matter of exactly how much their shares will be worth.
Larsen added he is “certain” the equity conversion will go ahead as planned.
