Metlifecare raises $100m

Alan Edwards, CEO & Managing Director of Metlifecare. Photo / Greg Bowker

Retirement village operator Metlifecare has successfully raised fresh capital and its majority owner, Retirement Villages NZ, has sold down its stake.

A primary placement of shares has raised $40 million and the secondary sale of Retirement Villages' existing holding has raised $59.2 million, thereby reducing its stake from 82 per cent to 51 per cent.

Metlifecare said the capital raising has generated strong support from a broad cross-section of New Zealand institutions, habitual investors and some of the company's existing shareholders.

The offer has also attracted a number of new offshore institutional investors.

The share price for the offer had been set at $2.10 per share, compared with the company's last traded price of $2.26.

The company also intends to make a share purchase plan offer to eligible existing shareholders, aimed at raising a further $5.5 million.

Metlifecare chairman Greg Flood said the company's capital and ownership structure review initiatives opened the way for it to pursue "brownfield" opportunities, and other growth, in a focused way.

Goldman Sachs was sole lead manager, placement agent and bookrunner for the offer.

Metlifecare has 16 villages, but trade in the company's shares has been stymied by a lack of liquidity because Retirement Villages and a handful of funds and institutions owned almost all the shares.