Market close: Ebos surge takes it to new highs

Ebos Group surged $2 or 5.48 per cent to $38.50. Photo / NZME

The New Zealand sharemarket closed the week on a bright note, spurred on by merger and acquisition activity and Ebos Group reached a new high of more than $38. The property stocks also had one of their better days of the year.

While overseas indices were falling, the S&P/NZX 50 Index gained 77.84 points or 0.61 per cent to 12,832.86. The index rose in the morning, fell over lunchtime and made a big turnaround in the afternoon on renewed buying from investment funds.

There were signs of promise, with the index finishing the week nearly 1.4 per cent ahead. Volumes kicked up to 72.49 million share transactions worth $263.8 million, and there were 64 gainers and 66 decliners across the whole market.

The S&P/ASX 200 Index was down 0.38 per cent to 7356.5 points at 5.45pm (NZ time). The Hong Kong, Japan and Shanghai markets were having similar falls, and Wall Street was weaker overnight.

Transtasman healthcare products distributor Ebos Group surged $2 or 5.48 per cent to $38.50 on trade worth $27m as the market gave the thumbs-up to its $1 billion purchase of LifeHealthcare.

Tourism Holdings was also on the move, rising 17c or 5.96 per cent to $3.02 after announcing it is merging with Australian-listed Apollo Tourism & Leisure. Apollo was up 12.5c or 22.52 per cent to 68c on the ASX market at 5.45pm (NZ time).

Through the merger, Tourism Holdings will finish up with a stake of 75 per cent in Apollo and enters new recreational vehicle rental markets in Germany and Canada, as well as UK, United States, Australia and New Zealand.

Ebos resumed trading after completing a $674m placement of 19.5m new shares at $34.50 a share to help fund the purchase of transtasman medical devices distributor, LifeHealthcare. Ebos is now making a $105m offer to existing shareholders.

Shane Solly, portfolio manager with Harbour Asset Management, said Ebos quickly moved 10 per cent above the placement price. "It puts Ebos in a strong growth sector of medical devices and the acquisition has been well received by the market."

He said Apollo was a very complementary business to Tourism Holdings and the management was signalling significant synergy cost savings through the merger, particularly head office and property. It also gave Tourism Holdings a bigger footprint.

Solly noted there was some renewed portfolio buying across the local market – possibly some of the KiwiSaver default funds coming back in – and property stocks and Spark were doing quite well.

"If global economies are facing slower growth, and that's the concern right now, because of the Omicron Covid spread, then our market with its mix of stocks might do relatively well – with fresh money coming in."

Dividend stocks Spark was up 12c or 2.71 per cent to $4.55, and Chorus gained 9.5c to $7.08.

Among the property stocks, Goodman Property Trust increased 7c or 2.75 per cent to $2.62; Investore was up 4c or 2.15 per cent to $1.90; Kiwi Property gained 3c or 2.6 per cent to $1.185; Property for Industry rose 8c or 2.82 per cent to $2.92; Argosy picked up 5.5c or 3.7 per cent to $1.50; and Vital Healthcare Property Trust collected 3.5c to $3.045.

Fisher and Paykel Healthcare was up 10c to $32.20; Mercury Energy climbed 13c or 2.2 per cent to $6.05; Ryman Healthcare gained 15c to $12.23; Arvida increased 6c or 3.13 per cent to $1.98; and Air New Zealand rose 3.5c or 2.28 per cent to $1.57.

Fonterra Shareholders' Fund, soon to operate under a new capital structure, claimed another 15c or 4.05 per cent to $3.85; Synlait Milk was up 11c or 3.3 per cent to $3.44; Vulcan Steel increased 10c to $9.10; Harmoney collected 4c or 2.11 per cent to $1.94; and Greenfern Industries added 2c or 9.09 per cent to 24c.

Meridian declined 8c to $4.672; Contact lost 9c to $7.72; Auckland International Airport shed 12c to $7.72; Napier Port fell 6c or 1.94 per cent to $3.03; Vista Group decreased 5c or 2.17 per cent to $2.25; and AFT Pharmaceuticals was down 12c or 2.71 per cent to $4.31.

The country's biggest kiwifruit grower Seeka is buying Gisborne packing business New Zealand Fruits for $21m, and its share price edged ahead 1c to $5.25.

Chatham Rock Phosphate gained 0.007c or 5.88 per cent to 12.6c after providing the market with an update that highlight its goal of becoming an international producer, having bought into the Avenir Makatea mine in French Polynesia and Korella phosphate mine in Queensland.