There will be great interest in who the newcomers are, having bought the remaining 10.46% stake held by Australian group Freedom Foods, which has exited altogether after a period as cornerstone shareholder with nearly 20% and not too long ago putting a proposal, rejected by A2, for a takeover bid.
The shares were sold in Australia at A85c each on Tuesday, the day of A2’s annual meeting in Auckland. The equivalent New Zealand price was 93c, compared with a 97c close, and another rise to 99c today, after the company reported sales well ahead of budget – led by the new infant formula brand made for it by Synlait Milk in Canterbury – and set out a new operating earnings (Ebitda) forecast of $22 million for the June 30 year, up from the previous forecast of $12m.
Freedom did not say whether the 75 million shares were sold in one parcel or to various buyers. The answer will come soon enough with substantial shareholder notices required to be filed with NZX if a 5% threshold is reached.
The latest change on the share register is unlikely to change the balance of the shareholdings between NZ and Australia, with 58.2% of total shares being on the NZ register as at November 11, with the balance having moved to the Australian register since A2 listed there on March 31.
Very encouraging for the company is that the surge in sales and earnings has come ahead of the just-completed capital-raising which has brought in another $43m as working capital.
It has also increased the shareholder base and the liquidity of the shares for trading.
The company says it now has 6958 shareholders – who look to be fairly evenly split between the two registers – up from 5045 in June, and 3692 in November last year.
If the Freedom Foods shares have been split among buyers, former long-time director and chairman Clifford Cook, who began the recapitalisation and expansion of A2 from 2004 onwards, could again be the biggest shareholder with a near 9% stake through his Mountain Roads Investment.
First NZ Capital, which organised the recent capital-raising, is listed with 6.89% of the shares, followed by two Australian institutions GreenCape and Challenger with an interest in 6.48%.
Auckland-based Milford Asset Management also has 6.48% on behalf of its investors, and the Child Health Research Foundation owns a 5% stake. The ACC is shown with a 3.38% holding and a range of NZ trustee services groups are also on the register with small-but-significant investments.
