There were 20 Takeovers Code-regulated transactions in the year to 30 June 2016, which was slightly higher than the 18 transactions in the previous year, the Takeovers Panel says in its annual report for the 2015/16 year.

It says that 15 of the transactions were acquisitions or allotments of parcels of shares, approved by shareholders at a meeting of the Code company. Five other Code transactions were completed, being four takeovers and one compulsory acquisition following from an overseas upstream acquisition.

No major enforcement actions were taken over the year, and the Panel says all transactions ran smoothly.

The report points to a growing trend whereby a group of shareholders in a Code company form an unincorporated joint venture to make a takeover offer to all the company's other shareholders.

"This caused the Panel disquiet that the policy of the Code was being undermined by these types of offers. In December 2015 the Panel provided certainty to the market by publishing its views on how to comply with the Code for such transactions."

The Panel says that during the year to 30 June 2016 it used 12% more resource than had been forecast on transactional work (53% of resource forecast, 65% expended) in large part because of more resource expended on processing Codee company schemes than had been anticipated (4% forecast, 11% expended).

It says this had flow-on effects on the resources available for policy projects (26% of resource forecast, 21% expended), and public understanding work (21% of resource forecast, 14% expended).