The New Zealand Government has sold a 20 per cent stake in Air NZ
(ASX:AIZ) for $324 million.
In the third of four planned asset sales, about 221 million shares in the airline were sold to mostly New Zealand investors for $NZ1.65 apiece - the price at which the stock closed before the sales process.
The sell-down reduces the government's stake in Air New Zealand from 73 per cent to 53 per cent, and follows partial sales of stakes in utility assets Meridian Energy and Mighty River Power.
Of the Air New Zealand shares sold by the government, 43 per cent were picked up by New Zealand institutional investors, 41 per cent by local retail investors, and the rest by overseas institutions.
Air New Zealand delivered a net profit of $153.3 million in fiscal 2013.
