Sharechat Logo

AWF founder Hull sells $7.25M stake at 7.9% discount to boost liquidity

Friday 31st May 2013

Text too small?

AWF Group managing director Simon Hull and his family interests have sold down their stake in the contract labour firm at a 7.9 percent discount in a bid to boost liquidity in the stock and attract institutional investors.

Hull sold 2.5 million shares at $2.90 apiece, for some $7.25 million, in off-market transactions placed by Craigs Investment Partners, the company said in a statement. The buyers will also be entitled to a 12.2 cents per share dividend if they are still on the register on June 21, with the payment on June 28.

The shares were unchanged at $3.15 today, having climbed 31 percent this year. The sale accounts for about 10 percent of the company's shares, and leaves Hull and his family with about 58 percent control, worth $47.25 million at today's price.

"The primary motivation for the transaction is to seek to create greater liquidity and greater institutional interest in the company's shares," Hull said.

As part of the deal with Craigs, Hull has agreed not to sell any more shares for 90 days from June 6 unless agreed with the brokerage.

AWF more than doubled annual profit to $6.9 million after selling its Panacea Healthcare unit, and is returning most of that capital back in a special dividend.

The company is New Zealand's largest provider of temporary staff, placing an average 3,000 people a day into jobs via a network of 34 branches.

BusinessDesk.co.nz



  General Finance Advertising    

Comments from our readers

No comments yet

Add your comment:
Your name:
Your email:
Not displayed to the public
Comment:
Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved.

Related News:

AWF more than doubles profit on Panacea sale, will pay special dividend
AWF posts jump in sales, earnings, points to signs of Christchurch rebound
AWF Group expects strong annual profit growth
AWF to buy back shares in preparation for incentive scheme
AWF buys South Island nursing home help service
AWF to pay up to $3.5 mln for Tradeforce NZ recruitment agency
AWF blames RWC for shortfall in profit growth, shares gain
AWF Group forecasts profit rise
Allied Work Force set to buy Panacea Healthcare
Allied Work Force bounces back as employment growth returns