Computershare does well out of 'tiff'

By ELLEN READ

Share registry operator Computershare has abandoned its stake in the stock exchange and made millions of dollars in the process.

The sale comes as the two organisations battle it out over control of the country's share registries.

Computershare - formerly the exchange's largest shareholder with an 8 per cent stake - began selling down last month.

Yesterday, the company sold its remaining 766,000 shares, or 6.05 per cent, for $8.55 each. The sale was made in one lot to Macquarie Equities, who were buying on behalf of a number of investors.

This means a new substantial security holder - for stakes over 5 per cent - will not emerge, leaving Probatus (a company associated with staff and management at sharebroker Forsyth Barr, which has an 8 per cent stake) with little competition.

Neither Computershare nor the stock exchange could be contacted but one broker was not surprised by the sale. "They've had their differences with the exchange and now, with this little tiff, then I'd guess they've decided it's not worth their while.


"I would think they've done very well."

He said Computershare bought its holding, which once numbered more than a million shares, for $4.60 each and sold the bulk for $8.55 a share. When it began selling last month, it divested 250,000 shares for $2.1 million.

That was a profit of more than $1 million for Computershare, which had quickly emerged as the biggest shareholder after the listing of NZX last year.

The two organisations have been at odds over NZX plans to set up its own registry to compete with Computershare and the country's BK Registries.