All Blacks could cash in on aged care mega-merger

All Blacks Kieran Read, Daniel Carter and Richie McCaw all own stakes in a Christchurch retirement village.

All Blacks including Dan Carter, Richie McCaw and Kieran Reid could receive a windfall from a proposed mega-merger of 19 privately-owned New Zealand retirement villages into a single, publicly-listed company.

The three players, as well as former All Blacks Leon Macdonald, Aaron Mauger and Andrew Ellis, all own stakes of less than 5 per cent in Christchurch's Park Lane Retirement Village, according to Companies Office records.

A source said Park Lane was one of the 19 villages involved in the proposed merger.

The new entity, provisionally named Hercules, will comprise of facilities in Auckland, Tauranga, the Bay of Plenty, New Plymouth, Palmerston North,

Waikanae, Nelson, Blenheim, Rangiora and Christchurch, according to a statement released this morning.

All Blacks are understood to own shares in other villages set to take part in the merger.

Carter has previously told The Press that he had invested in seven retirement villages, including facilities in Blenheim, Nelson and Christchurch.

He was introduced to the retirement sector by Ben Hurst, the son of 1970s All Black Ian Hurst, according to the Christchurch newspaper.

Once the merger is complete, Hercules will have more than 2000 residents, with roughly half accommodated in aged care facilities and the other half in retirement villages.

Shareholders of the 19 villages are expected to meet early next month to approve the transfer of their shares into Hercules in exchange for shares in the new company.

"To complete the transaction, Hercules has undertaken that the company will seek to complete an initial public offering and listing on the NZX main board," the statement said.

"Final details of the offer, including a possible name change, will be finalised by the Hercules board prior to registration of an IPO prospectus."

The offer is intended to raise $50 million to $100 million through the issue of new shares, which Hercules said would be used to pay down debt and provide funds for future growth.

The statement did not provide any details on the timing of the offer.