New kid on the block
Those involved with this morning's Evolve Education Group float must have taken a deep breath on Tuesday when ASX-listed Queensland childcare operator G8 Education entered a trading halt.
Such halts often precede bad news, which wouldn't have boded well for Evolve, as the recent success of Australia's listed early childhood education providers has been suggested as a reason to invest in the Auckland company.
As it turns out, G8's board was preparing a positive announcement. Trading resumed yesterday after the company revealed a 20 per cent increase in the annual dividend to A24c a share. Phew.
G8 shares went into the halt at A$4.26 - 35 per cent up on their starting price this year - and closed at A$4.51 last night.
Evolve used the $132 million it raised through the initial public offering to fund its acquisitions of New Zealand childcare providers Lollipops Educare and Porse, which were to be settled yesterday.
Wynyard stock holding up
Craig Richardson made sure he touched wood when pointing out that Wynyard Group's share price has held up reasonably well this year in the face of a global tech sell-off.
Speaking to media this week, the software developer's boss said leading the charge in a new wave of crime analytics software was insulating the stock against a fall in investor appetite for growth-focused, loss-making technology companies.
Wynyard shares, which listed in July last year at $1.15 a piece, almost tripled to a record close of $3.20 in late March before falling as low as $1.90 in August. The stock closed at $2.11 yesterday.
It's been quite a tumble for Wynyard, whose clients include the New Zealand Police and London's Metropolitan Police, but at least the stock is still trading well above the offer price.
Shares in fellow software developer SLI Systems, which listed in May last year at $1.50, hit a record close of $2.85 in January before plunging below the offer price. SLI shares closed at $1.12 last night.
Happy holders
Infratil and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund have scotched speculation that they might be looking to offload shares in Z Energy.
The Wellington infrastructure investor and the Super Fund each retained 20 per cent stakes in the petrol station operator after its initial public offering last year.
The two organisations acquired the Z operations in 2010 when they were still trading as Shell. Escrow restrictions on their 40 per cent combined shareholding ended last month and they are now free to sell.
The Australian Financial Review reported that investment banks had been "busy pitching" since the restrictions came off.
But a Super Fund spokeswoman says the fund remained a "happy holder" and was not looking to sell its Z shares. And Infratil chief executive Marko Bogoievski says his firm has consistently said it's not interested in selling.
"All [the speculation] is bankers coming up with ideas after an escrow period is finished," he said.
"These guys will get themselves into a frenzy and convince themselves something's happening."
Z shares closed at $4.27 last night, 22 per cent above the $3.50 offer price.
Chorus makes No 1
Chorus stock may have come off the boil yesterday but the shares were bubbling earlier in the week.
The mega-rally, prompted by a proposed increase in the price the company can charge for access to its copper network, has made Chorus the best-performing NZX 50 stock this year, knocking Meridian Energy off its perch, according to Bloomberg.
The lines company's shares gained 32.7 per cent between the opening on Monday and Wednesday's close, and had returned 81.94 per cent in the year-to-date by 1pm yesterday, ahead of Meridian's 73.71 per cent.
Chorus shares closed at $2.66 last night, still well below the $3.70 record close of March 30, 2012, before decisions over wholesale copper line internet rates began hammering the stock price.
On Tuesday the Commerce Commission proposed to lift the wholesale price telecommunications firms such as Spark pay for access to Chorus' copper lines to $38.39 a retail customer a month from the $34.44 regulated price that came into effect on Monday. Before this month's change the price was $44.98.
