Shares of Trade Me have traded at over a five percent premium to their $2.70
listing price when they debuted on the NZX.
Fairfax Media has floated 34 percent of the business which is New Zealand's
biggest online auction site.
On the first two and a half hours' trading on Tuesday the shares traded
between $2.74 and $2.84.
The initial public offering raised a total of $363.5 million, which Fairfax
plans to use to repay debt and increase dividends.
"You can call it a successful debut - investors were probably hoping to see
the price over $2.80," said Grant Williamson, director at Hamilton Hindin
Greene.
Fairfax acquired Trade Me for $750 million in 2006 and it posted a $A400
million ($NZ528 million) annual profit in the 2011 financial year, making the
auction site a stand-out for the media company contending with dwindling
advertising revenue from its traditional newspaper business.
Trade Me founder Sam Morgan is on the Fairfax Media board and David Kirk, a
former Fairfax chief executive, has been named as chairman of the listed
company.
NZN