Tourism Holdings jumps 57.5% on buyout offer, lifts NZX 50

The S&P/NZX 50 was up 1.07% to 12,690.130 points with gainers outnumbering decliners 53 to 41.

Trading volumes were dominated by Tourism Holdings (THL), which disclosed it had received an unsolicited, conditional, non-binding indicative offer (NBIO) before the market opened. 

Of the $147.1 million in value traded across the main board, over $50m was in THL shares.

Another buyout

A consortium comprising Australian private equity firm BGH Capital and the family interests of executive director Luke Trouchet offered $2.30 per share for the company.

This campervan rental company rallied to meet the offer price, rocketing up 57.5% to close the day at $2.30.

Craigs Investment Partners' senior research analyst, Mohandeep Singh, said the stock has been under pressure and that it’s not surprising “someone has had a crack at it”.

“It's kind of a wait-and-see now to see how the board responds before anything happens,” he said.

“Given where the share price has moved to, the market is obviously thinking that it's a credible initial offer and probably putting a reasonable chance of a successful takeover.”

Elsewhere

Comvita shares fell 7.27% to 51 cents after the mānuka honey company forecast a net loss before tax of between $20m and $24m for the year to June 30, excluding any impairment. Comvita forecasts 2025 revenue to be slightly below last year’s $204.3m.

The small-cap firm stated that it is still struggling with aggressive pricing and 'channel-loading' by competitors, whereby suppliers send more goods to distributors than are likely to be sold within a reasonable timeframe.

The country’s two largest retirement and aged care stocks, Summerset Group and Ryman Healthcare, travelled in opposite directions, with the former falling 1.95% to $11.07.

Ryman, which is down nearly 50% this year to date, rose 2.76% to $2.23.

Briscoe Group continued its rally since S&P announced it would join the NZX 50 early last week, gaining 1.74% to $5.84. The retailer is now up over 15% in the year-to-date.

Later in the day, Vulcan Steel announced that its long-serving chief executive, Rhys Jones, had announced his intention to retire from the role after 19 years of dedicated leadership. Shares dropped off 2.27% to $6.45.

Energy

Brent crude oil futures climbed closer to US$75 (NZ$124.5) per barrel on Monday, extending gains since Israel struck oil-producing Iran with airstrikes late last week.

Markets were preparing for volatility as Iranian military officials suggested Tehran may close the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial maritime channel linking the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman.

Across the Tasman, Australian energy stocks climbed rapidly after the market opened. At 5pm, the S&P/ASX 200 Energy index was up 5.66% compared to a more modest gain of 0.04% across the wider index.

In NZ, the effects were less pronounced, with the S&P/NZX All Energy index rising 1.91%.

Genesis led the way, rising 1.55% to $2.30, and Contact climbed 1.45% to $9.12.

The energy index's largest constituent, Meridian, was up 1.36% after disclosing its May monthly operating report.

As of June 9, national hydro storage increased from 88% to 94% of the historical average, with North Island storage being 138% of the average.

Despite significant rain, Singh said the sector continues to be affected by regulatory uncertainty.  

In any case, he said the bigger issue is around the availability of gas for the market. 

“That's been the core Achilles heel, rather than the gentailers doing anything negative themselves. That is that we don't have enough firming capacity with gas or coal or whatever else when things get dry or not as windy.”