The Tarras Water Company's problems finding a ''dry'' shareholder to contribute up to $3.4 million, as well as not quite meeting its 70% threshold for ''wet'' shareholders, has led the company to close its first prospectus, and issue another today.
Company chairman Pete Jolly told the Otago Daily Times yesterday the company was unable to resolve the dry shareholder issue in time ''and we felt to be fair to the shareholders we had to close and start again''.
The new prospectus would remain open until June 28.
Mr Jolly said it would be ''fair comment'' to say the company had been ''rushing things a bit'' but the reason was to have the irrigation system operating in time to benefit crops sown in spring.
He said putting the $37.33 million project back a month was ''not ideal'' from a farming point of view but preferable to putting it back a year, because of price commitments from contractors for constructing the scheme.
The company has been waiting for the Otago Regional Council to decide if it will be the dry shareholder - a move which has met with some public opposition.
Mr Jolly said there were two other dry shareholder options the company was pursuing but these also required more time.
''We're caught in no man's land. That's where we sit; between a rock and a hard place.''
Mr Jolly said he could not comment publicly on the reason why the number of wet shareholders did not quite meet the threshold the company had set.
''The pleasing thing with the wet shareholders was the support generally was very good.''
The new prospectus would have a 65% threshold.
Mr Jolly said the situation was frustrating but he was confident the scheme would go ahead.
