Sanford shares surge as Ngāi Tahu fishes for value

The S&P/NZX 50 Index rose 22.05 points, or 0.2%, to 13,243.49. Turnover was $222 million.

Fishery firm Sanford leapt 21.4% to $5.40 as South Island iwi investment group Ngāi Tahu Holdings attempted to buy up 20% of the company on-market for $5.50 per share.

Existing significant shareholder, Amalgamated Dairies, offloaded almost half its 11% stake, selling 5.6 million shares to Ngāi Tahu for $30.8m.

The buying interest comes the day after Sanford shares sank to their lowest since May, after reporting operating costs were higher than usual and profit margins were reducing.