Suncorp Group Ltd. unit Vero Insurance New Zealand Ltd. will sell its 19.99% stake in TOWER Ltd. to Bain Capital Credit LP for NZ$53.9 million.
Vero Insurance said March 8 that it has accepted Bain Capital Credit's offer to acquire its 67,464,858 shares in TOWER at 80 New Zealand cents apiece.
Following the deal's completion, Suncorp said its New Zealand operations would see a gain of NZ$8.5 million in the second half ended June 30. Bain Capital Credit will also become the largest shareholder of TOWER, according to a separate same-day release.
In February 2017, Vero Insurance had acquired an 11.14% stake in TOWER and proposed buying the remaining shareholding in the company. But in July of the same year, New Zealand's Commerce Commission rejected the planned takeover over competition concerns.
Both Vero Insurance and TOWER had appealed with the High Court of New Zealand against the regulator's rejection of the deal, with the appeal scheduled to be heard in late January. However, TOWER terminated its scheme implementation agreement with Vero Insurance in November 2017 after the deal lapsed, and said it could negotiate a new agreement after raising further capital. Shortly, the two parties withdrew their appeals.
As of March 7, US$1 was equivalent to NZ$1.38.
