Meridian IPO raises $1.88 bln for govt, shares priced at bottom of range, has just 62,000 shareholders

Meridian Energy shares have been priced at the bottom of their indicative price range, and the company will have just 62,000 shareholders when it floats on the sharemarket next week.

Finance Minister Bill English and State Owned Enterprises Minister Tony Ryall announced on Wednesday evening the initial public offering of the State Owned Enterprise will raise $1.88 billion. As tipped earlier on Wednesday, the company's shares have been priced at $1.50 each, which is the bottom of the $1.50 to $1.80 indicative range previously set.

English and Ryall said Meridian attracted a different mix of investors from Mighty River Power earlier this year. While demand was "strong and broad based," fewer retail investors bid for larger parcels of shares.
Around 110,000 shareholders bought into Mighty River Power, and some 228,000 bought Contact Energy shares in 1999.

For more on the SOE selldown process see this Double Shot interview with Milford Asset Management's Brian Gaynor.

And here's the full statement released by English and Ryall

Meridian raises $1.88b – NZ’s largest retail investment in an IPO

Meridian shares have been priced at $1.50, raising an immediate $1.256 billion from the first instalment payment with an additional $628 million to come from the second instalment in 18 months, Finance Minister Bill English and State Owned Enterprises Minister Tony Ryall say.

“Meridian will be 86.5 per cent owned by New Zealanders when the company lists on the NZX Main Board next Tuesday, counting the Government’s remaining 51 per cent shareholding. This meets the 85 to 90 per cent New Zealand ownership target set by ministers.”

Based on the full $1.50 share price, the Meridian offer is the largest investment in an initial public offering by retail investors in New Zealand.

“The $1.88 billion that will be raised by the Meridian share offer is a real boost for New Zealand’s capital markets and our economy,” Mr English says.

With more than 62,000 shareholders, Meridian will have the third largest share registry on the NZX, behind Mighty River Power and Contact Energy.

“Meridian has attracted a different mix of investors than we saw with Mighty River Power earlier this year,” Mr English says. “While demand was strong and broad based, overall we saw fewer retail investors bidding for larger parcels of shares.”

Mr Ryall says the $1.88 billion raised from Meridian’s two instalment payments will be allocated to the Future Investment Fund and will be used to invest in the Government’s infrastructure programme.

“Combined with the $1.7 billion in proceeds from the Mighty River Power offer, this will be $3.58 billion over two floats which the Government does not have to borrow to reinvest in new, priority public assets.

“The Future Investment Fund is building new infrastructure around the country and that means jobs for New Zealanders. The Government is delivering on its plan to control debt and successfully set a path back to surplus.

“Scaling of allocations was required across all investor groups, however, New Zealanders were at the front of the queue for shares.

“We have applied a progressive scaling approach to the general offer where larger applications are scaled more than smaller ones.

“Broker firm applications have been scaled on a pro rata basis, as outlined in the Offer Document.

“Overall, 95 percent of retail applications will receive at least 90 percent of the shares they applied for.

“Applications from New Zealand and offshore institutions have also been significantly scaled back. Confirmations of allocations will be sent to institutions over the coming 24 hours.

“Meridian will list on the NZX main board at 1pm next Tuesday with an indicative market capitalisation of $3.84 billion, making it one of New Zealand’s largest listed companies,” Mr Ryall says.

Details of the retail allocation policy are attached. The allocation table will allow investors to work out their expected share allocation. All investors who applied in the general offer will be able to confirm the details of their allocations on Friday by calling the call centre (0800 90 30 90) or, if they applied online, visiting the website (www.meridianshares.govt.nz). In addition, an email will be sent on Friday to those investors that provided an email address advising them of their exact allocation. Investors who applied through a broker should contact their broker.

Meridian share offer – at a glance

Share price $1.50

First instalment price (paid at share offer) $1.00

Final instalment price due in May 2015 50 cents

Proceeds

Proceeds of first instalment $1.256b

Expected proceeds due from final instalment (May 2015) $628m

Total proceeds to Crown from Share Offer $1.88b

Ownership

Total NZ ownership (incl 51% Crown) 86.5%

Individual New Zealand shareholders 62,000 (provisional subject to settlement)

Retail investors

Retail investors (first instalment) $749m

Proportion of shares on offer 59.7%

Institutional investors

NZ institutions (first instalment) $160m (12.7%)

Offshore institutions (first instalment) $347m (27.6%)

Note: numbers are provisional until settlement

General Offer applicants – scaling policy

Given the strong level of demand, progressive scaling has been applied. This means that larger applications are scaled more than smaller ones.

Overall, 95 percent of retail applications will receive at least 90 percent of the shares they applied for.

New Zealand retail applications

How your application will be scaled:	You will receive:
First $2,500	The full amount you asked for
From $2,501 to $10,000	90% of what you asked for
From $10,001 to $15,000	85% of what you asked for
From $15,001 to $20,000	75% of what you asked for
From $20,001	55% of what you asked for

Individual investors will receive confirmation of their allocations from Friday 25 October 2013.

Broker firm applicants – scaling policy

Broker firm applications have been scaled on a pro rata basis, as outlined in the offer document. Broker firm client allocations have been scaled back by 10%.