KEY POINTS:
Investors wanting a piece of Opus International Consultants, the former Ministry of Works, will pay $1.65 per share, the company announced yesterday.
The civil engineering firm is floating 21 per cent of the company on the NZX to raise $47.85 million.
Opus chairman Basil Logan said the response to the initial public offering (IPO) from institutional and retail brokers had been positive.
"We have had an excellent response to our road show and bookbuild process. There was strong support from a wide range of investors," Logan said.
The IPO will give Opus a market capitalisation of $224 million.
The $1.65 offer price is at the upper end of the expected price range of $1.45 to $1.70. Opus employees will be offered shares at a discount.
Logan has said the public listing was to enhance the ownership culture the company had with employees and to use capital markets to help its growth strategy.
Opus has a presence in the UK, Canada and Australia and plans to double the size of its overseas operations over the next five years. The company wants to increase staff numbers from 2145 to 3500 and lift revenue from $250 million to $500 million.
Opus has been involved in the engineering for most of New Zealand's largest infrastructure projects, including all of the hydro-electricity schemes and the motorways in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch. It was also involved in design for the Britomart transport centre.
It was privatised in 1988 and then bought by Malaysian interests in 1996.
After the float, the firm's majority shareholder - Malaysian-controlled Opus International group - will hold a 66 per cent stake. Opus expects about 10 per cent of its stock will be taken up by institutions, 10 per cent by retail investors and the rest by employees.
The closing date for the IPO is October 26. Shares are expected to begin trading on the NZX on October 30. First NZ Capital is lead manager and Macquarie Securities is co-lead manager.
