NZ stocks: Time to find out if Freightways delivers

By PAUL PANCKHURST

The sharemarket will focus today on the stock exchange listing of Freightways, the courier company floating in the biggest initial public offering of a New Zealand company since 1999.

The company raised $141.5 mil-lion in the share issue and kicks off with a market capitalisation of $195.3 million.

Freightways' shares were priced at $1.60 each after a book build to match supply with demand and gauge support from institutional investors. ABN Amro Capital has retained a 19.9 per cent stake and institutional investors have grabbed 18.25 per cent.

Freightways slips into the sharemarket's top 50 companies by market capitalisation, sitting in the late 30s.

Elsewhere, the market waits for the next developments in a series of corporate plays:

* A target statement and independent report from Australian Growth Properties in connection with Trans Tasman Properties' takeover bid is expected to be mailed to shareholders late this week.

* Moves are expected in the bidding tussle between Kiwi Forests Group and The Campbell Group for Fletcher Challenge Forests' forestry estate.

* Fletcher Forests' biggest shareholder, Rubicon, awaits a Court of Appeal judgment to determine the size of hedge-fund Perry Corporation's stake in Rubicon.

* Toll Holdings' bid for Tranz Rail runs to the end of next week.

* INL faces a Sky Network Television share price well above the level it flagged for a takeover bid to mop up the minority shareholders.