A bill to help protect shareholders from unscrupulous offers to buy their shares cheaply has passed through the Federal Parliament.

During the past 10 years, numerous insurance company shareholders have been subjected to offers for their shares at considerable discount to market prices.

Only last month the Australian Securities and Investments Commission stopped one such company, Hassle Free Share Sales, from making offers for AMP and Axa shares.

A persistent operator in this area has been Melbourne-based David Tweed through his various companies that over the years have offered to buy Suncorp and in particular IAG shares at a considerable discount.

IAG Group GM Investor Relations Carolyn McCann says the legislation will help protect shareholders from undervalued offers by making it more difficult to obtain access to information kept on shareholder registers.

“We welcome the co-operation through the Parliament that has allowed the quick passage of this bill,” she said. 

Since 2002, about 16,000 IAG shareholders have agreed to sell their ordinary shares for less than market value, in response to undervalued offers. 

This has resulted in a cumulative transfer in value of about $17 million to these organisations based on the difference between the price shareholders would have received had they sold their shares on-market compared with the price received under the unsolicited share offers.