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Bookstore chain Whitcoulls may be heading back on to the NZX. Picture / Glenn Jeffrey

Whitcoulls, one of New Zealand's oldest retailers, could make a return to the NZX - but not until early 2008.

Australian owners Pacific Equity Partners say a New Zealand float of the book retailer is one of the most likely options as it begins to consider an exit.

PEP partner Simon Pillar said the private equity group would begin seriously looking at its options early in 2007 and would look to divest - most likely via a trade sale or an NZX listing - in the first quarter of 2008.

PEP purchased the company from British bookseller W.H. Smith in 2004.

It paid $135 million to buy both Whitcoulls and Australian chain Angus & Robertson - forming the A&R Whitcoulls group.

Although it was still too early to rule out an ASX listing, Pillar said the NZX was the front runner because of Whitcoulls' strong brand recognition in New Zealand and the fact that the float would make a bigger impact on the smaller stock exchange.

Last week PEP announced the purchase of Australian newsagency chain Supanews for an undisclosed sum. It will be folded into the A&R Whitcoulls Group. The company said it planned to expand that business and expected it to have an enterprise value of about A$50 million within three years.

In July the company unveiled an ambitious growth strategy for its A&R stores with plans to roll out an additional 45 stores in the next two years.

Also, last year A&R Whitcoulls sold its Hong Kong and Australian airport businesses for A$22 million.

Having created a company with Australasian synergies, it was likely that any listing would be for the entire group, Pillar said. It was fair to assume PEP would have added significant value since the purchase.

"Next year we'll spend some time with the institutions in New Zealand and get a perspective from them," he said. In the end the final decision would come back to price.

Forsyth Barr retail analyst Guy Hallwright said he could see no reason why a Whitcoulls float would not be well received here.

History book

* Whitcoulls dates back more than 100 years to Whitcombe and Tombs, founded in 1888, and Coulls Somerville Wilkie, founded in 1871.

* It now has 65 stores throughout New Zealand

* Pacific Equity Partners (PEP) purchased the company from British bookseller W.H. Smith in 2004.

* It was listed until 1996 when it was taken over by Graeme Hart who sold it to Blue Star in 1997.

* Whitcoulls is estimated to have a 40 per cent share of the New Zealand retail book market and a 30 per cent share of the DVD/video market.