Weaklings GWB and NAB waltz with Wall Street

Ian Rogers
The IPO timetable ticked by with Great Western Bank proving a hard sell for National Australia Bank.

"Final pricing" on the initial public offering for its US-based subsidiary NAB chose to set at a level 14 per cent below the minimum on a price range outlined only two weeks earlier.

Gross proceeds realised by NAB will be US$288 million, the bank said yesterday. The price is US$18 per share, with shares closing at the end of the first day of trading overnight right on this level after trading lower.

NAB sold 16 million shares or 27.6 per cent of GWB's common stock and may allocate a few more shares yet.

Priced at A$35.12 on September 1, NAB shares yesterday ended at $32.54, 7.3 per cent down over the intervening six weeks.