Hon Bill English
Minister of Finance
Hon Tony Ryall
Minister for State Owned Enterprises

8 May 2013
Media Statement
Over 113,000 NZers to hold shares in MRP

113,000 New Zealanders will become shareholders in Mighty River Power following a successful share offer, Finance Minister Bill English and State Owned Enterprises Minister Tony Ryall say.

The final price will be $2.50 per share.

Of the shares issued, 86.5 per cent will be New Zealand owned: 26.9 per cent by New Zealand retail investors, 8.6 per cent by New Zealand institutions and with the Crown retaining a majority 51 per cent shareholding. That leaves 13.5 per cent for overseas institutions.

“This is an outstanding result and fulfils our commitment to ensuring at least 85-90 per cent New Zealand ownership of the company,” Mr English says.

“The share offer will raise $1.7 billion, which is a very good return for New Zealand taxpayers. Those proceeds will go into the Future Investment Fund, allowing the Government to control debt while continuing to invest in public assets. More details will be announced in next week’s Budget.

"The Government has achieved all of its objectives for the Mighty River Power share offer, so the company will list on Friday.

“Given the strong response to the share offer, and the price we have set, Mighty River Power will have a market capitalisation of $3.5 billion.

“And with over 110,000 New Zealand shareholders, it will have the largest share register – by some margin – of any New Zealand company on the exchange.”

Mr Ryall says that due to the strong level of demand, some scaling has been necessary.

“We have decided to apply progressive scaling, which means that larger applications are scaled more than smaller ones,” Mr Ryall says.

“That means that more than 80 per cent New Zealanders will get what they applied for.”

More details of the allocation and scaling decisions are attached.

“While most New Zealand investors will be able to work out from this announcement what their share allocation is, they will also be able to get confirmation of their individual allocation from Friday – by checking the website or calling 0800 90 30 90. We will also be emailing or writing to all applicants to confirm their allocation,” Mr Ryall says.

“The demand from institutional investors was strong, and bids from both New Zealand and offshore institutions were scaled considerably. Institutions will be advised of their allocations shortly, after which a settlement process commences.

“Mighty River Power will list on the NZX at 12.30pm this Friday.

“We are delighted to get to this stage, and look forward to a healthy aftermarket and a positive experience for New Zealand investors, particularly those who are investing in shares for the first time,” Mr Ryall says.

Important Notice
The offer of shares in Mighty River Power Limited is made by the Crown on the terms and conditions set out in a combined investment statement and prospectus dated 5 April 2013, as amended on 22 April 2013.
Application has been made to NZX Limited ("NZX") for permission to list Mighty River Power and to quote its shares on the NZX Main Board and all of the requirements of NZX relating to that application that can be complied with on or before the date that of this press release have been duly complied with. However, NZX accepts no responsibility for any statement on this press release. The NZX Main Board is a registered market operated by NZX, which is a registered exchange, regulated under the Securities Markets Act 1988.
The contents of this press release are not permitted to be made available to persons in any country other than New Zealand. Mighty River Power's shares have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "United States Securities Act") or the securities laws of any state of the United States and may not be offered or sold in the United States unless the shares are registered under the United States Securities Act, or an exemption from the registration requirements of the United States Securities Act and applicable United States state securities laws is available.

Mighty River Power share offer – at a glance

8 May 2013

Share Price $2.50

Proceeds of share offer $1.7 billion
Total NZ ownership (incl 51% Crown) 86.5%

New Zealand retail investors

Individual New Zealand shareholders 113,857 (provisional)

Retail investors $943m

Proportion of shares 26.9%

Average shareholding for New Zealand retail $8,220

Applicants who pre-registered 91%

Applicants without CSNs 68%
(suggesting first-time investors)

Withdrawal after Labour/Green policy 1,783 applicants ($25m)

New Zealand institutional investors

NZ institutions $300m

Proportion of shares 8.6%

International institutions
Offshore institutions $472m

Proportion of shares 13.5%

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