Gullivers Offer Closes
Media Release 7 December 2004
GULLIVERS OFFER CLOSES
The initial public offering (IPO) of diversified travel services business Gullivers Travel Group closed at 5pm today.
Sixty-five million shares available under the offer (65% of the shares on issue) were allocated to institutions and a number of retail brokers in New Zealand and Australia following a bookbuild process, and the offer closed fully subscribed. The lead manager of the IPO was UBS.
Gullivers Travel Group shares are expected to list on both the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges on December 15. At the offer price of $1.60 per share, the business will have an initial market capitalisation of $160 million. Managing Director and founder Andrew Bagnall said that he and the board, which will be chaired by Jeff Todd, are looking forward to an exciting future as a listed company.
Gullivers, New Zealand's largest outbound travel services business, was founded in 1976 as a travel wholesaler and has experienced significant growth over the last 28 years.
The group is now vertically and horizontally integrated, operating multiple business lines and distribution channels, including:
· Wholesale and ticketing (Gullivers Wholesale and Gullivers Ticketing)
· Retail leisure (Holiday Shoppe and United Travel franchises)
· Corporate travel (Atlantic Pacific, Signature Travel, Biztrav)
· Online distribution (Zuji licence, Serko, Calypso licence)
· Technology (Access Interactive and Interactive Technologies Limited).
ends
Issued by Professional Public Relations NZ