NZX continues acquisition drive, buys M-co for NZ$13.1 mln

Wednesday 29th April 2009

NZX, which started life as the manager of the New Zealand stock exchange when its brokerage owners took it public, has extended its drive to diversify, agreeing to acquire the energy and related assets of Marketplace Co. for NZ$13.1 million.

The Wellington-based group now has assets ranging from media companies to data providers and trading platforms for bonds, shares, futures and carbon credits. As well, it has a role as market regulator and its shares trade on its own bourse, where they’ve climbed 25% this year.

Yesterday, NZX announced is was finalising an agreement to acquire Country-Wide Publications, a rural publisher based in Fielding with titles including NZ Farmers Weekly, Country-Wide North and Country-Wide South, NZ Dairy Exporter, Deer Farmer and Young Country.

That transaction deepens NZX’s clout in agricultural data and information. It bought Perth, Australia-based ProFarmer, Australia's leading provider of agricultural news, commodity market information and strategic grain market analysis, last October. In April last year it acquired Melbourne-based Dairy Marketing Group, publisher of Dairy Week and the FarmGate Milk Price Report.

It also owns Agri-Fax, a data and information service covering farm and export prices for lamb, beef, venison, dairy products, wool, wheat, forestry, seafood and horticulture.

In November 2007, NZX acquired 30% of Appello Services, a funds management services business.

NZX’s purchase of M-co, as Marketplace Co. is known, excludes the Unlisted platform, which was set up to offer a low-cost listing alternative to the NZX. M-co chief executive Carl Hansen will leave the company.

NZX’s Rowan Macrae said work with M-co will include development of a liquid hedge market for New Zealand electricity. The transaction requires approval from the Electricity Commission and the Gas Industry Company, expected at the end of next month.

NZX will fund the acquisition through equity and debt. The announcement was made after the close of trading. Shares of NZX rose 1.2% to NZ$6.90.

Businesswire.co.nz

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