Infratil completes sale of Z Energy
Infratil confirmed last week that the sale of its 20% stake in Z Energy Limited has been completed. Infratil had announced in early October that it had agreed to sell its 20% interest in Z Energy Limited (80 million shares) via a block trade for $6.00 per share.
The block trade followed a book build which commenced on the evening of Tuesday 29 September 2015 and concluded on the evening of Wednesday 30 September 2015. After sales costs, the net proceeds from the sale of Infratil's 20% stake are $479.2 million resulting in a gain on sale of the 20% interest of $392.2 million, subject to finalisation of Infratil’s share of Z Energy’s result for the 6 months ended 30 September 2015 and sales costs.
Infratil CEO Marko Bogoievski said that Infratil was a strong supporter of the Z Energy business and the proposed acquisition of Chevron New Zealand. "While we are positive about the outlook for the business, the current market provided an opportunity for a clean exit and the flexibility to recycle capital into new growth opportunities."
The New Zealand Superannuation Fund (NZSF) also concluded its sale of a 9.725% interest in Z Energy Limited (38.9 million shares) via the same block trade process for the same price per share. NZSF will continue to hold approximately 10% of Z Energy Limited.
Infratil and NZSF each acquired a 50% stake in Z Energy in 2010, bringing local ownership to the former Shell New Zealand fuel distribution business. Since that change to local ownership, Z Energy has successfully rebranded and applied greater focus to customer service; Z Energy was announced as New Zealand's second most reputable company in 2015 (the Colmar Brunton top 20 reputation index) and as a 2015 AON Hewitt Best Employer.
In August 2013, Z Energy was partially listed on the NZX and ASX, with Infratil and NZSF reducing their respective holdings in Z Energy to 20%.
In June 2015 Z Energy announced that it had entered into an agreement to acquire 100% of Chevron New Zealand, subject to clearance under the Commerce Act 1986 and consent of the Overseas Investment Office. Those processes are ongoing and decisions are expected by the end of 2015.
