UBS flat out with run of big deals

By PAUL PANCKHURST


The New Zealand arm of the global investment bank and sharebroker UBS is lifting its profile again with a hot run of deals and a beefed-up investment banking team.

"It's been a remarkable flurry of activity," said Andy Coupe, executive director of capital markets.

UBS last week raised $56.6 million in a placement of 11.55 million shares of the Nuplex resins company to partly fund its $202 million conditional purchase of the Netherlands-based Coatings Resins.

The firm is advising AGL on the sale to Vector of its 66 per cent stake in the gas lines company NGC for $877 million. That deal was unveiled on October 11.

It advised on another deal announced the same day - Fisher & Paykel Appliances' $50 million purchase of United States appliance company Dynamic Cooking Systems.

Six days earlier, the firm handled Singapore Airlines' sale of a 6.3 per cent stake in Air New Zealand for $61.7 million.

The firm is a joint arranger with Forsyth Barr of Prime Infrastructure's offer of "Sparcs" - subordinated prime adjusting reset convertible securities - as part of the controversy-dogged $680 million takeover bid for New Plymouth power lines company Powerco.

The possible $100 million-plus share float of Andrew Bagnall's Gullivers travel group is another job to go the firm's way.

In February, UBS handled Fisher & Paykel Appliances' $230 million sell-down as the cornerstone shareholder of sister company Fisher & Paykel Healthcare.

Coupe said hiring had lifted the number of executives in the investment banking team from seven to 11.

The firm was small compared with the huge operation in Australia, but the expansion showed confidence in the New Zealand market.