Lib Petagna, the chief investment officer of HRL Morrison & Co which manages Infratil, has sold down his stake in the listed infrastructure investor, with Accident Compensation Corp’s investment portfolio taking up the majority of the shares.
JML Capital, an entity related to Petagna, sold 3 million shares on market at $2.81 on Oct. 24, reaping $8.43 million, according to a notice to the stock exchange. JML held 11.42 million shares as at May 19, or 1.95 percent of the company, according to Infratil’s annual report. Petagna is an executive director of Morrison & Co, and is on the boards of Infratil subsidiaries NZ Bus and Infratil Property.
ACC emerged as the major buyer, purchasing 2.7 million shares for $7.6 million, and taking its stake in Infratil to 9.9 percent from 8.9 percent, according to notices lodged with the NZX.
Shares of rose 0.7 percent to $2.88 today, and have gained 26 percent this year.
The stock rose to a six-year high in September after it announced the sale of its Australian energy assets and flagged a possible capital return to shareholders with the proceeds. Infratil will update investors on this at its first-half results next month.