Wynyard price could start low

Wynyard Group's shares have fallen 5c since listing on the NZX this morning. Photo / NZH

Market players are expecting Wynyard Group to be priced towards the lower end of its $1.10 to $1.65 range in its book build tomorrow.

Investment bank UBS is in charge of the auction-style process which will be used to set a price for the company's capital raising before its planned July 19 sharemarket listing.

Wynyard provides security intelligence software designed to protect companies and countries from threat, crime and corruption, and wants the float to raise at least $65 million.

But its prospectus reveals just $25.8 million of that money is earmarked for growing the business.

A further $23.6 million will go to Jade Corporation, the company which Wynyard was split off from, to pay for intellectual property rights and $12 million will be used to repay debt and a loan to Jade.

Costs associated with the sharemarket float are expected to soak up a further $3.6 million.

One analyst, who didn't want to be named, said the structure of the deal was a big negative. "We like the business, like the management and what they have created but don't like the structure of the deal and the ongoing relationship with Jade."

The analyst said the company did not have a very long track record around its new suite of products which made the business hard to price. "It does mean it will be pushed to the lower end, in my view."

Chris Gaskin, a fund manager at Devon, said he expected the float to go okay given the success of previous technology float SLI Systems.

SLI had a listing price of $1.50 and gained 18 per cent on its first day of trading on May 31.

"There seems to be a lot demand for these software platforms."

Gaskin, who won't be investing in Wynyard because it doesn't fit his firm's mandate, said the challenge was pricing a company which did not make any money now but had the promise of making money in the future.

"Wynyard looks like a really great business with smart products that are really differentiated in what they do for clients. But how you pay for these things is the issue."

Another fund manager, who did not wish to be named, said the pricing appeared to be taking advantage of the hot market for technology stocks.

Wynyard's initial public offer price is expected to be announced on Wednesday, with its offer for shares due to open on Monday June 24.