International Comparative Legal Guide - Mergers & Acquisitions 2024 covers common issues in M&A laws and regulations in 38 jurisdictions. This includes relevant authorities and legislation, target defences, bidder protection, and mechanics of acquisition.
The chapter on developments in New Zealand was contributed by Cath Shirley-Brown and David Raudkivi, with assistance from senior solicitor Sophie Chester.
Some key trends in New Zealand's M&A market we're seeing at the moment include:
- Buyer's market:
As interest rates have risen in recent years and companies have been experiencing a lower point in their valuation cycle, New Zealand is currently more of a buyer's market at the moment.
Despite this, target company boards are holding firm against opportunistic offers – in late 2023, both Sky Network Television Limited and Arvida Group Limited rejected non-binding indicative proposals for a takeover on the basis that these proposals undervalued the companies.
More recently, two potential targets have been unable to strike a deal with interested parties. Both Comvita Limited and Rakon Limited have announced that since providing due diligence access to unnamed potential bidders, these processes have since ended and the parties are no longer pursuing the potential deal.
- Schemes preferred:
We are continuing to see schemes of arrangement being the preferred transaction structure used in New Zealand, with two schemes being completed in each of 2023 and 2024 (so far) and no takeovers being completed in either year.
- Key sectors:
The key sectors that have been targeted in New Zealand over recent years are technology, healthcare and energy. This year the technology sector has been the front runner for public M&A activity in New Zealand, with schemes involving software provider, Volpara Health Technologies Limited and engineering company, MHM Automation Limited, being implemented. Infratil Limited is also in the process of conducting an equity raise of approximately $1.15 billion to fund further investment into data centre developer and operator, CDC.