Retirement village firm finally gets public float

Aged-care and retirement village company Oceania Healthcare has become the first listing of the year on the New Zealand sharemarket.

The company completed its listing on the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges yesterday after raising $200 million via an initial public offering.

At 79 cents a share, the stock had a market capitalisation of $482m, which increased as the shares rose to 81c in early morning trade.

Oceania chairwoman Elizabeth Coutts said the float would allow the company to reduce debt and speed up its substantial building programme and the flexibility to buy sites as they arose.

‘‘This places Oceania Healthcare in an excellent position to meet the needs of New Zealand’s elderly, particularly as 2021 approaches and the first of the baby boomer generation celebrate their 75th birthdays,’’ she said.

Oceania chief executive Earl Gasparich said his firm’s focus on aged care set it apart from its listed peers: ‘‘We provide a more ‘needs-based’ product offering compared to other retirement village developers.’’

Pip Greenwood of Russell McVeagh, which advised Oceania, said that it was the first NZX listing of the year and only the sixth undertaken under the Financial Markets Conduct Act.

Only three companies joined the NZX main board after undertaking floats last year.

Oceania Healthcare formed in 2008 from a merger of Eldercare and Qualcare. It is the country’s third largest residential aged-care provider and the sixth-largest retirement village player.

Its listing has been rumoured since 2014. The IPO involved just over 41 per cent of company shares.