Investment firm Active Equities Ltd (AEL) is seeking to halve its 50 per cent ownership of Wellington-based mobile radio company TeamTalk.
AEL, of which former BIL executive Paul Collins is a founding member, is offering to buy back one for every four of its shares held, and to pay foreach AEL share with 200 TeamTalk shares.
AEL is seeking to reduce its 50.8 per cent holding - 10.15 million shares - in TeamTalk to 24.8 per cent - 4.96m shares.
AEL shares last sold for $400 on the Unlisted share trading facility, while TeamTalk shares were down 1c to $2.60 on the New Zealand stock market this morning.
TeamTalk previously reported a full-year net profit up 2.8 per cent to $3.11 million.
At the time managing director David Ware said the company continued to generate strong cash flows, but anticipated 2007 would be a more difficult year as the overall economy tightened and uncertainty remained around the telecommunications regulatory environment.
Today Mr Ware said he expected AEL's move would improve the liquidity of TeamTalk's shares.
"One of the problems we've always had is that our shares have always been tightly held - meaning small transactions bounce the share price around and decent parcels of shares are difficult to obtain," he said.
"Active Equities' plan will see our shares in the hands of a lot more investors, some of whom are likely to sell, thereby improving our share liquidity and overall accessibility to outside investors."
