Fliway to raise up to $50 mln in first NZ IPO of the year

Fliway to raise up to $50 mln in first NZ IPO of the year

By Paul McBeth

Feb. 26 (BusinessDesk) - Fliway Group, the transport and logistics group, will seek up to $50 million in New Zealand's first initial public offering of the year, with a sale expected next month.

The Auckland-based company, owned by managing director Duncan Hawkesby and his wife Gretchen, will sell shares to the public and institutional investors to raise between $30 million and $50 million, it said in a statement. The offer is being arranged by Forsyth Barr, the lead manager, and details are expected to be announced next month.

"An initial public offering of new and existing shares allows the business to raise capital while allowing my family to retain a significant shareholding in Fliway," Duncan Hawkesby said.

Gretchen Hawkesby is the daughter of New Zealand's richest man, billionaire Graeme Hart, and her husband Duncan is the son of former broadcaster and winemaker John Hawkesby.

The company employs more than 400 people offering global supply chain services from international freight to warehousing and domestic delivery, according to its website.

Duncan Hawkeby is listed as the sole director of the Fliway group of companies according to Companies Office documents.

Fliway owns 50 percent of United Parcel Service - Fliway (NZ) with Atlanta, Georgia-based UPS International Freight Forwarding. The unit has been trading since April 1998, and generated a profit of almost $507,000 on revenue of $16.5 million in calendar 2007, the last year the company filed financial statements with the Companies Office.

(BusinessDesk)

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