Gentrack shares debut at $2.58 on NZX after IPO to pay debt, allow selldown
By Jonathan Underhill
June 25 (BusinessDesk) - Gentrack Group, which develops utilities and airports software, first traded at $2.58, up 7.5
percent from the price in an initial public offering that raised funds to repay debt and allowed existing shareholders
to sell down their holdings.
The company raised $36 million of new capital that will be used to repay debt taken on for its management buyout in 2014
and to cover IPO costs. At the same time, existing shareholders including chairman John Clifford and executive director
James Docking raised about $63 million selling existing shares. After the sale, existing investors hold about 43.2
percent of Gentrack.
The trading debut gives Gentrack a market capitalisation of about $188 million, ranking the company between Green Cross
Health and Hallenstein Glasson Holdings on the NZX All Index. The stock last traded eased to $2.55 after about five
minutes of trading.
The listing comes at a rocky time for companies looking to go public. Hirepool yesterday abandoned plans for what would
have been the year's second- biggest IPO on the NZX as investors baulked at the offer, while Serko slumped in its first
day of trading, recovering today to trade at $1.04 compared to an IPO price of $1.10. Mobile measuring device maker
ikeGPS and Scales Corp, the fruit and vegetables logistics group, both currently have prospectuses in the market and
there's talk that MetroGlass, Orion Health, Vista Entertainment Solutions and Eroad are considering going public.
The Auckland-based Gentrack counts Genesis Energy, Meridian Energy, MightyRiverPower, Australia's Origin Energy and the
UK's SembCorp Bournemouth Water among the electricity and water utility customers for its Gentrack Velocity billing
product. Airport companies that use its Airport 20/20 management system include Auckland International Airport, Sydney
Airport, Hong Kong International Airport and John F Kennedy International Airport.
The company competes with SAP and Oracle for utility billing systems and with Lockheed Martin, SITA and AirIT for
airport systems, according to its prospectus. Given the share sale will leave Gentrack debt free, with a strong balance
sheet, has said it would consider acquisitions of up to $20 million to add compatible software or enter new markets.
(BusinessDesk)