NZ bank IPO mooted

One of the Australian-owned banks is considering splitting off its New Zealand assets and floating a new company on the NZX, the New Zealand Herald reported.

The newspaper reported that speculation centred on BNZ, owned by National Australia Bank. BNZ told the newspaper there was no foundation to the speculation.

NAB is in the process of cancelling the listing of its own shares on the NZX, where they are barely traded.

The NZH reported that institutional investors in Auckland received documents outlining an initial public offering of a vehicle with a potential market capitalisation of NZ$3 billion to NZ$5 billion.

Any IPO could involve the sale of between a quarter and a half of NAB's ownership of BNZ over the next 18 months to two years.

The seriousness of NAB's exploration of a float of BNZ (if it is NAB thinking of floating BNZ) is uncertain, with one of the newspaper's sources suggesting it was institutional investors promoting the idea of an IPO of a New Zealand banking subsidiary.