Released 20 February 2003. Comment closed 4 April 2003.

We are turning Interim Policy Statement 159 Takeovers: Discretionary powers (IPS 159) into a final policy statement. This policy proposal paper sets out our proposals for finalising and updating IPS 159. Interim Policy Statement 159 was originally issued in March 2000, when the Corporate Law Economic Reform Program Act 1999 (CLERP Act) commenced. We released IPS 159 as an interim policy because we intended to review it in light of our experience of the CLERP Act.

Interim Policy Statement 159 discusses how we will use our discretionary powers to exempt from or modify the takeover provisions introduced by the CLERP Act. It sets out:

• our policy on issues we expect may commonly be the subject of applications for relief from the takeover provisions after commencement of the CLERP Act; and
• the status of our pre-CLERP Act policies.

This policy proposal paper discusses:

• proposed amendments to certain interim policies in IPS 159; and
• proposed additional policies to address various issues raised with us since March 2000.

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