Hon Tony Ryall

Minister for State Owned Enterprises


20 March 2013 Media Statement

400,000 New Zealanders Pre-Register For Mighty River Power

As at 10 am today over 400,000 New Zealanders have pre-registered their interest in buying shares in Mighty River Power.

Minister for State Owned Enterprises Hon Tony Ryall says that if New Zealanders have questions about share ownership, there is information available.

“I urge them to go to the pre-registration website – www.mightyrivershares.govt.nz. It has a Frequently Asked Questions section which will be very helpful for new investors and for people who haven’t participated in a Share Offer before,” Mr Ryall says.

“There is also the www.governmentshareoffers.govt.nz website that has information on the Mixed Ownership Model programme, as well as information about share ownership.”

Mr Ryall says the pre-registration website and the 0800 call centre have been extremely busy since the launch of the pre-registration programme.

“We encourage New Zealanders who are interested in finding out more about the Mighty River Power Share Offer to pre-register their interest. Pre-registering does not oblige you to apply for shares and will allow us to keep you informed.”

“But they’ll have to do that within the next two and a half days.”

The pre-registration deadline is 5pm on Friday 22 March.

“Pre-registration is only for New Zealanders and it does not commit anyone to having to buy the shares,” Mr Ryall says.

“A New Zealander who pre-registers may get a share allocation benefit of up to 25 per cent more shares that those who do not pre-register. In the event that the Share Offer is oversubscribed, the 25 per cent allocation benefit will apply as follows:

• A pre-registrant who goes on to apply for shares in the general public offer will receive up to 25 per cent more shares than someone who does not pre-register and applies for the same amount of shares
• Applies to all applications above $2,000. All New Zealanders who apply are guaranteed the first $2,000 worth of shares applied for, irrespective of whether they pre-registered
• No one will receive more shares than they applied for

“New Zealanders can pre-register online or via the Share Offer call centre at:

• Website - www.mightyrivershares.govt.nz
• Free call – 0800 90 30 90 (8am to 8pm Monday to Friday and 8am to 8pm Weekends)

“The Government will remain as the 51 per cent majority shareholder of Mighty River Power and no other shareholder will be able to own more than 10 per cent of the company,” Mr Ryall says.

Important notice

The Crown is considering offering shares to the public in Mighty River Power Limited (“Mighty River Power”). No money is currently being sought and no applications for shares will be accepted or money received until after an investment statement containing information about the offer of shares is available (the "Share Offer Document"). The Crown is seeking preliminary indications of interest. Registering an indication of interest will not involve an obligation of any kind. If you pre-register, you will be able to choose to either receive the Share Offer Document in hard copy or be sent an email notifying you that it is available online (or both). A full description of the potential allocation preference for New Zealanders who pre-register is available at www.mightyrivershares.govt.nz.

ENDS

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