Latest news with #ForsythBarr
RNZ News
3 days ago
- Business
- RNZ News
Private equity firm to buy major stake in Forsyth Barr
Forsyth Barr has assets under management of more than $30b. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King Sydney-based private equity firm Mercury Capital has agreed to buy a 25-30 percent shareholding from existing shareholders. Mercury Capital manages more than $2 billion in funds and specialises in providing growth capital to established businesses on both sides of the Tasman. The offer is subject to shareholder approval and other conditions, with completion expected during August. The company said the investment would be positive for the firm, staff and clients, and showed confidence in its strategy, market position and future growth. "Mercury Capital shares our view that trusted personalised advice is more important than ever to help clients navigate a world of accelerating change, disruption and opportunity," Forsyth Barr managing director Neil Paviour-Smith said. He said the proposed partnership was a natural next step in the company's ongoing evolution. Mercury Capital's founder and about half of its staff are New Zealanders. Forsyth Barr acquired another investment management business Hobson Wealth in 2023, boosting its staff to about 300, with assets under management of more than $30b. The New Zealand investment sector has been through a shake up in recent years with a merger of various firms to form First Cape , of which Australian private equity firm Pacific Equity Partners owns about a third . Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
NZ Herald
3 days ago
- Business
- NZ Herald
Australian private equity investor Mercury Capital to acquire stake in NZ broker Forsyth Barr
Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read. Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech. Already a subscriber? Sign in here Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen. Australia's Mercury Capital is seeking a strategic stake in Forsyth Barr. Photo / NZME The shake-up in the New Zealand investment sector looks set to continue with investment firm Forsyth Barr announcing Australia's Mercury Capital plans to take a strategic stake in the company. Forsyth Barr said it had entered an agreement with the Sydney-based private equity firm, which is offering to acquire a 25-30% shareholding in the company for an undisclosed sum. The offer is subject to shareholder approval and other conditions, with completion expected during August, Forsyth Barr said. Founded in 2010, Mercury specialises in providing growth capital to established businesses across Australia and New Zealand, managing more than $2 billion in funds. 'Mercury Capital's investment reflects confidence in our strategy, market position and future growth,' Forsyth Barr chairman David Kirk said.
NZ Herald
16-07-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
High volumes of Infratil lift market after ASX 200 inclusion
'It's not so much a surprise that it's been added, but the timing is,' Goodson said. Across the main board, excluding funds, gainers outnumbered decliners by 43 to 38. Spark NZ continued its steady recovery, rising 1.93% to $2.64. In March, the telco traded below $2, a month after it reported a 78% fall in net profit for the first half of the financial year. Goodson said there was no clear source of Spark's improved share price performance. 'You have to go back three or four weeks now for very vague Australian media pre-speculation that private equity might've had takeover interest in it. There hasn't been any noise around that since then.' Mercury Energy shares lost 1.05% to $6.12 after it gave the market a quarterly operational update, which Goodson said was 'pretty solid'. 'All the wailing and gnashing of teeth about wholesale electricity prices is going to have to be put on hold for another winter, I think.' Forsyth Barr analysts Andy Bowley and Hugh Lockwood released an investor note on Wednesday in which they lifted their net profit expectations for Port of Tauranga by 3% because of a 'favourable pricing backdrop'. In a separate note, analysts at Forsyth Barr initiated full coverage of Tower with an outperform rating and a 12-month price target of $2. Port of Tauranga fell 0.7% to $7.05 while Tower gained 2.48% to $1.65. Property management firm Asset Plus lifted 5.13% to 20.5c on low volumes after it told the market it secured a new long-term lease at its 6-8 Munroe Lane development. It signed a 10-year agreement with a tenant to occupy about 1400sq m of Level 6. The agreement lifts the property's committed occupancy from 65% to 74%. Late in the day, NZ Windfarms announced it received final approval from the High Court for its scheme of arrangement with Meridian Energy, paving the way for Meridian to acquire the remaining shares it does not already own. Meridian ended the day 0.52% at 5.77 while NZ Windfarms lifted 2.04% to 25c. 'We're about to lose another company from the exchange,' Goodson said.
NZ Herald
10-07-2025
- Business
- NZ Herald
Which power company is winning from the high rainfall?
Politically, electricity generation and the price of power remains a hot potato. 'Regulatory uncertainty continues to overhang the sector, with no updates on the imminent ministerial review or the Energy Competition Task Force's level-playing-field measures,' the broker said. 'Nevertheless, we do not expect either to materially affect valuations.' A commissioned report on the sector from Frontier Economics is understood to be with the Government. Forsyth Barr's preferred sector pick remained Mercury, which it rated as 'outperform'. The other companies were rated neutral. It said Mercury was the biggest beneficiary of recent wet weather, with rain in the North Island boosting generation at its Waikato hydro chain by about 120 gigawatt hours (GWh) – up 50% on the prior month. Genesis also gained an additional 60GWh from its North Island hydro. Fast start Forsyth Barr also noted that Genesis is considering a new 50MW–100MW multi-fuel peaker at Huntly, targeting commissioning by winter 2027. However, the investment would require capacity payments from other market participants to proceed. The fast-start plant would complement the slower-starting steam turbine Rankine units, although the grid-scale battery already under construction at Huntly could serve a similar role. Genesis is investigating three fuel options for the project, each with challenges: natural gas supplies are tight; liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports appear unlikely; and diesel is very expensive, the broker noted. Genesis Energy's Rangipo Dam. Photo / Brett Phibbs The project also competes with Channel Infrastructure's (CHI) proposed diesel peaker at Marsden Point, which is seeking similar capacity contract support. If diesel is the likely fuel, CHI's peaker's proximity to existing diesel storage means it would be better placed. 'Given New Zealand's gas shortage, additional peaking capacity would be valuable, although the likely high generation costs mean we wouldn't be surprised if neither project proceeds,' Forsyth Barr said. Longer run Meanwhile, Jarden, taking a longer-term view, said it believed the electricity sector had passed peak wholesale pricing. 'After a significant run-up over the last four years, we expect wholesale prices, and company long-run expectations, to begin retracing as a substantial pipeline of new generation projects comes online and a partial roadmap toward capacity support starts to emerge,' Jarden said. Jarden's report went into 'overbuilding' – constructing more capacity than is needed to ensure reliability when hydro levels are low. 'We still view the sector as offering value; despite a likely overbuild scenario developing and the upward cycle of retail pricing likely coming to an end, the higher level of certainty around risk should offset these pressures,' it said. Jarden said Contact Energy was its top pick because it offered a compelling combination of growth and yield, further enhanced by the strategic acquisition of Manawa Energy. The broker has retained its 'buy' rating on the stock. Tariff overhang Leading exporter Skellerup has detailed the impact that US tariffs will have on its business. Skellerup generates around 35% of group revenue from sales in the US market. About 85% of this revenue comes from products made at its own and partner facilities in New Zealand, China and Vietnam. Skellerup previously reported that the tariffs announced during April 2025 (and changes subsequently) would not materially impact results for the year ended June 30, 2025. The company is due to report its result on August 21 and its guidance is for net profit of $52 million to $56m. Skellerup said it had made steady progress mitigating the impact of tariffs on its business. Skellerup has detailed the impact that tariffs will have on its business. Photo / Christine Cornege Forsyth Barr said the tariff overhang on Skellerup (SKL) was starting to clear. 'Both the Vietnamese tariff rate and Skellerup's confidence in full mitigation are better than we had modelled, and we lift our forecasts accordingly,' the broker said. 'Skellerup successfully offset tariffs imposed during the first Trump presidency, likely has pricing power given the characteristics of its products, and has a track record of continuous product cost improvement. 'On our revised forecasts, Skellerup is trading on relatively unchallenging multiples and medium-term growth is underpinned by new products and low debt.' Village optimism Summerset Group reported 402 sales for the quarter ending June 30, comprising 222 new sales and 180 resales. Chief executive Scott Scoullar said this was the company's highest quarter ever and was the result of a lot of hard work throughout the company. 'We've seen continued high demand for our retirement living offering. It's certainly not an easy sales environment for us but we're very happy with our progress so far this year and we'll continue to work hard to bring new residents to our villages over the second half of the year.' It was also the company's highest-ever first-half total sales with 692, up 18% on the first half of 2024. Scoullar said Summerset's diverse landbank was an advantage and continued to deliver for the company, with over 46.7% of sales coming from outside Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. Summerset's update was against a backdrop of higher industry inventory and a loss of sales momentum for the sector's largest player, Ryman, over the course of its 2025 financial year. The company's half-year result is due on August 28. IPO listing drought New Zealand is not alone when it comes to a lack of initial public offers. The Financial Times reports fundraising from initial public offerings in London has tumbled to its lowest level in at least 30 years, in a stark sign of the waning attractiveness of the UK's equity markets for companies and investors. The five listings on UK markets in the first six months of the year raised £160m ($362m), the lowest half-year amount going back to 1995. The total marks a 98% fall from a bumper six months of fundraising at the start of 2021 during the Covid-19 pandemic and is below the levels reached in 2009 after the Global Financial Crisis, the paper said. However, the same publication reported the number of companies applying for a listing in Hong Kong this year has hit an all-time high. A total of 208 companies applied for primary or secondary listings on the Hong Kong Exchange in the first six months of this year, beating the previous record of 189 companies in the same period in 2021, the Financial Times said. Jamie Gray is an Auckland-based journalist, covering the financial markets, the primary sector and energy. He joined the Herald in 2011.
The Guardian
05-07-2025
- Sport
- The Guardian
All Blacks hold off depleted France in thriller and Wales slump again in Japan
Will Jordan scored a try in each half and Beauden Barrett kicked to perfection as New Zealand overcame three cancelled tries to claim a nervous 31-27 win over France in the series-opener in Dunedin. Fielding only three players from the Six Nations title-deciding win over Scotland, the depleted France side gave Scott Robertson's team a huge scare in an entertaining match at a sold-out Forsyth-Barr stadium. However, a late Barrett penalty proved enough for the All Blacks to hold on, ending a three-match losing streak against Les Bleus. 'Just a typical Test match against the French for us,' said Jordan, who was denied a hat-trick try by the television match official. 'A couple of errors cost us … But we showed good composure to finish it off in the end there.' The All Blacks lost Sevu Reece to a head-knock less than a minute in when the wing clattered into a French hip, forcing Robertson into a backline rejig and Damian McKenzie to play at full-back off the bench. The French had a better start, with the debutant fly-half, Joris Segonds, booting a penalty in the seventh minute after Gabin Villière won a turnover penalty. France charged out to a 10-0 lead as Théo Attissogbe made a break down the left wing, Gaël Fickou drove the ball to the line and Mickaël Guillard crossed by the right post. Chastened, the All Blacks hit back hard. A Jordie Barrett try was denied by a knock-on in the buildup, but minutes later his brothers combined for their first legal try. Scott Barrett charged down a French clearing kick behind the 22m line before Beauden put Jordan over at the right corner with a superb, loop pass. McKenzie kept the momentum for the hosts, shrugging off four would-be tacklers with a jinking run to the posts before Tupou Vaa'i barged over to put the All Blacks four points up. The Barrett brothers struck again just before half-time, this time with Jordie touching down at the right corner after quick hands from Beauden and Jordan. The All Blacks' 21-13 lead all but disappeared within minutes of the restart, though, as Rieko Ioane spilled the kick-off ball forward to gift France a scrum deep in attack. Battering away for 16 phases, Segonds spread the ball wide to Villière who jogged through a gaping hole in the All Blacks' line on the right. The try-fest continued as Jordan burst through two defenders to cross for his second, with Beauden Barrett again setting up the chance. Fresh off the bench, Cameron Woki then crossed under the posts to peg back the All Blacks again. The pendulum swung back to the hosts with Villière shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on. A minute later, Billy Proctor stretched an arm over the line – only for the try to be cancelled as replays showed an illegal grounding of the ball. The undermanned French soon buckled again, with Jordan seemingly crossing for his hat-trick try in the 63rd minute. But it was erased by the TMO, who spotted Pasilio Tosi obstructing a French defender in the buildup. Wales's interim head coach, Matt Sherratt, said his players were hurt by an 18th successive Test defeat as Japan recovered from a 12-point deficit to inflict further misery on the beleaguered tourists. Sherratt's side led 19-7 at the interval in Kitakyushu through tries from Ben Thomas and Tom Rogers, as well as a penalty try, and were in sight of claiming Wales' first win for 21 months. But Eddie Jones' Brave Blossoms stormed back in sweltering conditions, with the temperatures reaching 34C alongside a very high humidity reading, to win 24-19 and register only their second ever victory over Wales. 'I think you could see the feelings pitchside, not just the squad but the whole staff,' said Sherratt of the scenes at the final whistle. 'To have a 19-7 lead in the first half and to lose the game at the end is obviously very disappointing. It hurts. Already we've got to quickly use that hurt to fuel next week. The great thing about this tour is we get a chance next week to put it right.' Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion Gregor Townsend was pleased to see Scotland's summer tour 'start on a positive' after his side held on to claim a 29-26 win against the Māori All Blacks in Whangarei. Having got off to a shaky start when Sam Nock crossed for the hosts, Scotland were able to clinch victory in the non-cap international with tries from Harry Paterson, Arron Reed and two either side of the break from George Horne. In a late scare the Māori reduce Scotland's lead to three points with 10 minutes to play, but Townsend was pleased to see his less experienced side prevail in Whangarei. The head coach said: 'The Māori are a quality side and I suppose we decided to put a team out tonight that wasn't as experienced knowing that it'll be a great development and learning experience for them. But we also wanted to win this game and we're so pleased that we did win the game and how we set that win up in the first half – how clinical we were. And then the pressure around set pieces and our defensive effort at the end saw us through. So, we're really pleased that the tour starts on a positive.' Hong Kong beat South Korea 70-22 in Incheon to win the Asia Rugby Championship and qualify for the World Cup for the first time. Hong Kong sides have got to the final stage of qualifying for the last two World Cups only to fall short but will now take their place at the expanded 24-team showpiece tournament in Australia in 2027. The United Arab Emirates beat Sri Lanka 29-21 in Colombo on Friday to finish second in the championship and will play off against an African nation in July for a spot at the final World Cup qualification tournament. Hong Kong are only the second team from Asia to get to the World Cup after Japan, who have already qualified after finishing third in their pool at the 2023 tournament in France. This story will be updated with later matches
