The Commerce Commission said it was satisfied the acquisition is unlikely to substantially lessen competition in any New Zealand market.
Contact issued a $1.86 billion scheme to take over Manawa in September 2024. With Manawa’s debt included, the enterprise value of the deal is $2.3b, making Contact the second-largest generator in New Zealand.
Shares in Meridian rose 1.58% to $5.80, up 9c with 2,451,193 shares trading hands to the value of $14,306,947.52.
Contact Energy’s shares rose 2.35% to $9.15, up 21c with 1,052,898 shares trading hands to the value of $9,543,012.41, while Manawa Energy had its share price rise 1.62% to $6.26, up 10c with 795,037 shares trading hands to the value of $4,941,408.60.
Hamilton Hindin Greene investment adviser Jeremy Sullivan said Meridian did the heavy lifting.
“The general optimism that we’re seeing has come out of the US with trade deals with the UK, and over this weekend Chinese and US officials meeting in Switzerland to break the ice, that was the quote,” Sullivan said.
“So probably too early to have anything concrete coming out from that and hopefully it’s positive and they can start to put some pen to paper in the not too distant future.”
Elsewhere, Precinct Properties NZ had its share price fall, dropping 1.27% today to $1.16, down 1.5c with 2,093,357 shares trading hands to the value of $2,434,271.41.
Sullivan also said to keep an eye on NZME’s shares following the announcement of the company and major shareholders landing on a new group of directors, led by former National Party MP Steven Joyce and including activist shareholder Jim Grenon.
NZME also announced it was investigating a new car sales digital classifieds platform to take on Trade Me, although Sullivan said he wouldn’t be holding his breath on a competitor for Trade Me unless the business was prepared to lose a lot of money for a long period of time.
As the reporting season begins, Sullivan said to look out for the results of Ryman Healthcare, Mainfreight, Kiwi Property Group and the Reserve Bank on May 28.
US stocks finished firmly in the green on Thursday after President Donald Trump unveiled a “breakthrough” trade agreement with the United Kingdom.
The deal reduces tariffs on British cars, steel and aluminium, while in return Britain will open up its markets to US beef and other agricultural products.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished up 0.6% at 41,368.45, as did the broad-based S&P 500, which closed at 5,663.94.
The tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 1.1% to 17,928.14.
China said on Friday its exports rose 8.1% in April, topping forecasts, as the country fought a gruelling trade war with the United States. The figures were much higher than the 2.0% predicted by Bloomberg.
Imports also beat expectations, dropping 0.2%, compared with the 6.0% slide analysts had estimated.
– Additional reporting AFP
Tom Raynel is a multimedia business journalist for the Herald, covering small business, retail and tourism.
