Insured Group shareholders agree to de-list from NZX

Thursday 10th May 2012

Insured Group, the Australian insurer which used Lombard Group for a backdoor listing on the NZX, will delist from the New Zealand stock exchange after it won enough shareholder support to switch to the ASX.

Shareholders approved the moves at special general meetings in Wellington and Perth yesterday. About 58 percent of shareholders voted in favour to de-list from the NZX, while 59 percent agreed to the company's capital raising plan. Some 22 percent opposed the offer of new shares and the plan to quit the NZX.

In April, the company's board said the rationale for quitting the NZX in favour of the ASX was due to the “very limited interest” in its previous capital raising effort and its limited local presence having divested its New Zealand assets. It plans to raise A$2.25 million through the listing, which it says it needs to ensure its ability to continue trading.

Trading in the stock has been light since Insured Group joined the bourse, and it expects to face lower compliance costs in Australia having inadvertently breached NZX listing rules twice in the past two years.

In March, Insured Group was slapped with a $50,000 fine by the stock exchange supervisor after it failed to lodge its annual report in time. The late filing prompted NZX to suspend trading in the company from Oct. 10 to Nov. 25.

In 2010, the company sought to raise up to $10 million through a placement of ordinary shares and/or the issue of redeemable convertible preference shares in New Zealand but received insufficient interest.

Shares in Insured Group have doubled this year to 4 cents, valuing it at $722,000. When Insured Group, then known as Australian Consolidated Insurance, took control of Lombard it was valued at some $18 million.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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