Mike Pero link in Aust listing
Offer will include well-known NZ name
Mike Pero Mortgages looks set to return to public ownership through the listing of its parent company, Liberty Financial, on the ASX. Mike Pero Mortgages was delisted from the NZX in 2006 after a takeover by a joint venture company owned by New Zealand Finance Holdings and Liberty — an Australian lender.
Fourteen years on, Liberty now owns 100 per cent of Mike Pero Group, which includes its mortgage, insurance, finance and real estate businesses.
According to Australian media reports, Liberty is looking to undertake an initial public offer that would value the company at A$1.8 billion.
It is expected to raise A$363 million in an IPO priced at 11 times the lender’s forecast net profit after tax, with new investors owning 20 per cent of the company on listing, according to the Australian Financial Review.
The Australian reported that Liberty’s cash net profit in 2020-21 was expected to be A$160m to A$170m. Its New Zealand business is just a small part of that.
Financial accounts for Mike Pero Group show it made an after-tax profit of $6.533m for the year to June 30, down from $8.936m.
Its operating incoming rose from $59.4m to $65.6m but expenses also rose from $49m to $57. Its provisions for impairment also rose from $1.7m to $2.48m over the year.
Pero’s exit
Mike Pero, the man, has exited his ownership of the real estate business which still bears his name.
Companies Office records show Pero resigned as a director of Mike Pero Real Estate on October 20 and his company MPZ One ended its ownership of the business on November 4. His company had a 12 per cent stake as of June 30, which had already reduced from 24 per cent the year before.
In 2018 Pero reduced his stake from 50 per cent to 24 per cent after reaching a settlement agreement with Mike Pero Mortgages following a long-running legal dispute.
The settlement was reached during the final stages of a High Court case that saw Mike Pero Mortgages attempting to claw back $2.2m (or $2.4m with interest) it says Mike Pero overpaid himself.
As part of the deal, Pero agreed to take an active role in promoting the broader group until at least 2027. A spokeswoman for Mike Pero Group confirmed that Pero works with the company as a brand ambassador and would do for the foreseeable future.