Air NZ rights issue outcome not all bad

Tuesday 7th November 2000

Updated 20:00 hours

Air New Zealand has reported to the Stock Exchange the final outcome of its rights issue that was widely rumoured to be heavily undersubscribed.

Based on final results, 176.2 million of the 189 million shares offered have been subscribed for. This equals 93.2% - an amount that is not quite as bad as some people feared it would be following the airline's shock profit warning last week.

This total comprises of 85.05 million acceptances for the "A" class shares from a total on offer of 96.5 million, and 91.17 million acceptances for "B" class shares from a total of 92.7 million on offer.

Underwriters will now have to cough up about $19.2 million to cover the approximately 12.8 million shares outstanding. Just who will pick up the tab is uncertain because it is understood that there were a number of sub-underwriters involved in the issue.

Air New Zealand would not comment on the outcome of the rights issue, or reports in the media this morning that at least one of the institutions underwriting the issue was contemplating legal action against the airline.

Shares in Air New Zealand rose again today after recovering lost ground yesterday. The "A" shares finished the day at $1.54 and the "B" shares at $2.13.

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