Forum Archive Index - September 2002

["Michael Phillips" <michael.p@paradise.net.nz>]

> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
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>
> Infratil sells down part of its Port of Tauranga stake
>
> Utilities investment firm Infratil announced a sell-down of 3.5
million shares in Port of Tauranga Ltd this morning
>
> http://www.sharechat.co.nz/news/scnews/article.php/1e7745b5
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
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I must confess to being a little bemused by the above sell-down.

As I understand it, one of the primary reasons that IFT gave was to
improve liquidity in POT.  I am guessing that their desire to improve
liquidity in a company that was 75% held by two shareholders may have
been motivated by the potential changes to the weighting rules of the
NZSE40.

What I don't understand is how the sale of a little over 5% of the
shares in POT to institutions will improve liquidity.  Unless holdings
by institutional investors are deemed to be liquid holdings, then this
sell-down will have done absolutely nothing to improve the liquidity of
POT...it will have simply added a few new names to the top 20 register.

I realise there will be other reasons for the redistribution within the
IFT stable, but is this a sign of some M&A activity from IFT in the
not-too-distant future?  If so, I wonder in what direction their
attention is moving.

Regards
Michael
===

disc: hold neither IFT or POT...have kept a distant eye on both over the
last couple of years.




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