ANZ takes $22m stake in Pacific Edge

ANZ New Zealand Investments has bought $22 million of new shares in cancer diagnostics company Pacific Edge at a premium.

Pacific Edge will issue 33.8 million shares to ANZ at 65c per share, a 14 per cent premium to the volume-weighted average share price over the previous five-day trading period. The company has more than 689 million shares on issue.

The share price jumped 17.24 per cent to 68c in early trading yesterday, up 467 per cent for the year to date.

The ANZ investment follows Pacific Edge’s breakthrough in the United States after its Cxbladder tests were approved for patients covered by national health insurance programmes Medicare and Medicaid.

Each test is charged at US$760, with one investor estimating that the additional income is worth an extra $10 million in annual revenue.

Pacific Edge chair Chris Gallaher said the move reflected growing investor interest following major milestones in the US.

The new cash will be put to use expanding Pacific Edge’s activity in key target markets and to allow the company to scale up quickly.

Andrew Bascand, managing director of Harbour Asset Management which owns 17 per cent of Pacific Edge, said he was pleased another substantial shareholder had thrown in their support, despite it technically diluting his shareholding slightly.

“ANZ will be delighted to get on the register before Pacific Edge goes in the index, because now it has such a market cap that it is the next entry into the index,” he said.