Wagner patriarch rings bell
Henry Wagner earns special honour at ASX float today
THE patriarch of Toowoomba’s famous Wagner family will have the honour of ringing the bell at the Australian Stock Exchange today, to signal the company’s public float.
Henry Wagner and his wife Mary will be there to watch his sons Denis and John try to raise nearly $200 million in one afternoon of trading in Sydney from 12.30pm AEDT.
It will mark an important milestone in the life of the massive concreting company, which was founded in 1973 Mr Wagner when he was a stonemason.
With a market capitalisation of $437 million, Wagners Holding Company will offer potential buyers more than 72 million shares at $2.71, the equivalent of 45 per cent of the company.
Chairman Denis Wagner said his father took some convincing.
“We had to convince him to do it (but) he reluctantly agreed,” he said of his 83-year-old father.
“It is very symbolic – it is the biggest event that we as an organisation have been through to date, and we’re very pleased that mum and dad go through with it.”
Mr Wagner said he was excited for the growth opportunities of civil construction in the Darling Downs and across Australia.
“We are very excited to welcome a more diverse group of shareholders to the company,” he said.
“We’ve gone to market so we can access different streams of capital to further enhance the growth opportunities for the company.”
THE Chronicle will be flying with the Wagner family to Sydney today to report on the ASX float. Pick up Saturday’s edition for full details.