Vertex IPO set at $2.05

Packaging manufacturer Vertex Group Holdings plans an initial public offering of 29,755,944 shares at $2.05 each.

The IPO, the second float of the year, opens on Monday and closes June 28.

Trading in the shares on the local Stock Exchange is expected to begin on July 1.

The shares will represent 93 per cent of Vertex's ordinary capital.

The share offer comprises stakes of the company's major shareholders, Pacific Equity Partners and Bain Capital, plus about $1 million worth of new shares to be issued by Vertex.

The company said there would be no public pool, with the shares to be offered through the lead manager and underwriter, JBWere, and other members of the Stock Exchange.

"Shares will be allocated to retail investors, with some shares also available to financial institutions that are clients of JBWere and [co-lead manager] UBS Warburg New Zealand," it said.

JBWere had hoped the $61 million float would be the first of the year in New Zealand but was beaten to the punch by ABN Amro Rothschild, which opened a $115 million IPO for Skellmax, an agricultural equipment manufacturer, on May 27.

The local stock market is welcoming the increase in new floats after several lean years.

Vertex Group Holdings is the parent of Vertex Pacific.