‘American Oilfield Divers
ashare purchase value raised

aBy lan Noble

eNews Reporter
DISCUSSIONS are
ontinuing between an
American firm and its
North Vancouver

Mtakeover target, the

Whomegrown high-tech
Hard Suits Inc.

Hard Suits  secretary-
Mtreasurer Bill Liddell .said
Friday that) = American

MOilfield Divers (AOD) of

ylafayette, Louisiana, and
A Hard Suits are talking about
n increased bid price and
athe terms and conditions of
BAOD’s offer.

However, neither side
has moved, he said, but that
ginay change closer to Oct.
30, the deadline for accept-
ing AQD’s offer.

Moin any situation like

@ this, as you get closer to the
deadline, there may be
movement. To this point,

A there hasn’t been,” he said.

Hard Su'ts founder and
president Phil Nuytten and
pother board members have

Bot said if they will tender

W their shares at the increased
$1.65 bid. Earlier, directors
said they would not sell at
the initial bid of $1.50 a
share.

Liddell said the price has.

changed, but as far as he
knows, the position of the
board of directors hasn’t.
f° Pacific International
Securities analyst Kevin
4 Finnegan is recommending
@ that his firm’s clients tender
their shares at $1.65
because there are no com-
) peting bids or aanounce-
B ments of new financing.
. AOD has also offered
financing of $} million to
a cash-hungry Hard Suits, but

the offer is conditional upon
Nuytien stepping down asa
director of the company he
built.

Finnegan said the offer is
more manoeuvring than an
attempt to refinance the
company. “If Nuytten’s will-
ing to take the loan, he’s
willing to lose the compa-
ny,” said Finnegan.

An earlier financing deal
arranged by Hard Suits was
shot down by the ‘Toronto
Stock Exchange.

The American firm wants
to buy Hard Suits so it can
get its hands on the local
company’s — Ieading-edge
Newtauit technolagy.
AOD's current tecknology
allows it to operate at
depths up to 800 feet (244
m). Acquiring Hard Suits
would immediately allow
the company to expand
operations to the 1,200-
foot (366 m) level, said
AOD.

In addition to the
Newtsuit, Hard Suits
unveiled the Remora, a sub-
marine rescue system, last
year.

Earlier this year, Hard
Suits received a contract
from the U.S. Navy to
design and supply a new
generation of Newtsuits that
would allow divers to go to
2,000 feet (609 m).

AOD has said that if its
takeover bid is successful
and its perception of Hard
Suits operations is correct,
changes won’t be made at
Hard Suits and the majority
of the 35 staff will remain
employed.

Hard Suits is the parent
company of Can-Dive and
Hard Suits International.

Nuytten founded Can-
Dive in 1966 and Hard
Suits Inc. in 1986.

. + }
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NEWS photo Terry Peters
PHIL Nuytten (left) is trying to keep contro! of Hard
Suits Inc., which buitds the Newtsuit.’In 1995, astro-
naut Dave Williams inspected the diving device.

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