New Zealand may get USD 1.7bn in Meridian Energy's IPO - report

(SeeNews) – Oct 22, 2013 - The New Zealand government could raise over NZD 2 billion (USD 1.7bn/EUR 1.2bn) via the initial public offering (IPO) of state-run utility Meridian Energy Ltd, Bloomberg said today citing people in the know.

The government is selling 49% in the power producer, which operates wind and hydropower plants. Unnamed informants told Bloomberg that the shares on offer are to be sold to retail investors at the upper limit of NZD 1.60 apiece. The offer price for Meridian’s shares has been set at between NZD 1.50 and NZD 1.80 apiece for institutional investors.

The news agency cited one of the informants as saying that between 800 million and 900 million of the 1.26 billion shares available might go to retail investors. Bidding closes tomorrow.

The IPO on the New Zealand Stock Exchange (NZX) and on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) will be completed by October 29, according to a previous Meridian Energy.

The listing is part of a government share offer programme, aiming to raise between NZD 5 billion (USD 4.1bn/EUR 3.1bn) and NZD 7 billion from selling stakes in state-controlled companies.

(NZD 1 = USD 0.845/EUR 0.618)

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