No decision on specific asset sales, Infratil says

Friday 15th February 2013

Infratil and its manager Morrison & Co say no decision has been made to sell specific assets such as Z Energy of its NZ Bus unit.

The NZ Herald reported today that Infratil has been reviewing its capital structure and both Z Energy and NZ Bus could be sold to free up capital for it to make other investments. Infratil and co-investor the New Zealand Superannuation Fund would keep about 50 percent of each business, the report said.

Infratil put out a statement in response saying it reviews its portfolio on an ongoing basis though has "not identified any particular investments for sale at this time."

"We've not decided to sell anything," said Jason Boyes, head of legal at Morrison & Co. "We were worried retail investors might think we've progressed down a path with particular assets" after reading the report.

Analysts have been speculating on which assets could be sold, he said.

Z Energy could be valued at up to $1.2 billion potentially putting it among the 20 largest companies on the NZX, the Herald reported, citing analysts.

"It does make sense. Doing it now would take advantage of the favourable market conditions," Grant Swanepoel, an analyst at Craigs Investment Partners, told the Herald. Infratil needed to consider unlocking the value from some of its investments.

Infratil shares fell 0.4 percent to $2.42 and have gained 7.5 percent this year.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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