ASIC has placed a final stop order on Rural & General Insurance’s Offer Information Statement (OIS), which the insurer planned to use to raise $5 million by offering shares to existing insurance clients at 50 cents a share.

Under the order, no offers, issues, sales or transfers of securities may proceed under this statement. ASIC’s Director of Corporate Finance, Richard Cockburn, said inadequate disclosure in an OIS “has great potential to mislead investors. “ASIC will take action to ensure that offers which do not adequately describe the company’s business or state the nature of the risks involved are removed from the market.”