Continuous Disclosure: Vodafone boss opens up on IPO

Jason Paris says he was brought in to whip Vodafone NZ's financials into shape ahead of its IPO, which he says is still on track for early 2020. Photograph by Leon Menzies.

Continuous Disclosure is a market news column, including analysis and opinion. Edited by Duncan Bridgeman, Tamsyn Parker and Jamie Gray.

Vodafone a value stock, Paris says
Vodafone NZ might be poised to fill a Xero-size whole in the NZX, but it will be a very different type of stock, despite the pair both being in the technology business. Chief executive Jason Paris opens up about the planned IPO.
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Xero to make hay from law change
ASX-listed Xero is poised to make hay from a law change across the Tasman, that will require some 700,000 small businesses to adopt a single-touch payroll solution by the start of the country's new tax year on July 1. The change has analysts sharpening their pencils.
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AA ditches Kiwi bank
The Automobile Association has entered into a third joint venture with Australian insurance giant Suncorp, ditching Heartland Bank in the process.
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Contact bond offer looks tight
Contact Energy is expected to reveal details of its latest bond offer this week but based on the suggested interest rate it could be better to keep your money in the bank. The $100 million 'green bond' is for five years.
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Tip Top sale progresses
The planned sale of Fonterra's ice-cream maker Tip Top is "making good progress," amid reports Australian private equity companies Pacific Equity Partners, BGH Capital and Adamantem Capital are in the frame.
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SkyCity's debt blow-out warning
Global ratings agency Standard and Poor's has warned SkyCity Entertainment Group's credit rating could come under pressure if its debt ratios blow out.
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The end of a shrinking market?
Chapman Tripp's annual stock take of the equity markets says things are looking up for 2019 and 2020 after a tough couple of years.
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Fonterra takes back Darnum
Fonterra has officially unwound its joint venture with Chinese company Beingmate, taking back full ownership of the Darnum manufacturing plant in Australia. While the exact terms of the separation haven't been revealed, a Fonterra spokeswoman says the deal had been structured to ensure no cash was paid by the Kiwi co-operative to Beingmate.
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Rich-lister's buying spree
A joint venture between a company owned by rich-lister Ben Gough and UK global asset manager LJ Partnership has snapped up a stake in a second fund management firm.
Alvarium (NZ) Wealth Management has bought 51 per cent of responsible investment fund manager Pathfinder Asset Management for an undisclosed price.
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Super Fund reacts to Brazil tragedy
The New Zealand Superannuation Fund has joined some other big fund managers and the Church of England in calling for independent safety monitoring of tailings dams, following a deadly spill at an iron-ore mine in Brazil that has left at least 120 dead.
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Chinese firm throws more money at Airwork
China's Zhejiang Rifa has injected more equity into Auckland-based Airwork Holdings just one year after fully acquiring the business. The issue was flagged in Airwork's audit report. Rifa made a full takeover for Airwork in September 2017.
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Banks hired to run Napier Port IPO
Hawke's Bay Regional Council has hired two investment banks to run the planned partial privatisation of Napier Port. The local body has also hired corporate advisory firm Flagstaff Partners to advise on the process.
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Air NZ contagion?
Analysts are worried Air New Zealand's earnings forecast down-grade could be the first sign that lower consumer confidence is starting to hit company in the pocket. Or is it because domestic airfares have been fully priced and people are now voting with their wallets?
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Boutique fund buys into in Yellow
The emergence of a new Yellow shareholder comes a month after the Kiwi company announced a much-improved financial position following years of red ink after the arrival of Google rocked the business model for directories.
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Fund manager bets against housing market
A note from Milford Asset Management this week confirms suspicions that a gloomy view of the property market is behind the sell-off of retirement village stocks on the NZX.
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BNZ shake-up looms
The Bank of New Zealand looks set for a major shake-up on the back of a departure by one of its top executives amid speculation the bank will merge its partners or business banking division with its retail division.
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