Venture capital fund extends offer following low investment

Internet commentator Lance Wiggs has extended his Punakaiki Fund offer by about three weeks and cut proposed management and directors' fees on signs the IPO would miss its minimum target of $5 million.

The offer, which had been due to close today, had sought to raise up to $50 million to invest in early stage New Zealand technology, internet and design companies.

The fund had registered a prospectus for an initial public offering of $20 million of shares at $1 apiece with oversubscriptions for a further $30 million.

"It was a lot harder to raise the fund that we anticipated, and our timing versus the Meridian offer was unfortunate, with brokers essentially dedicated to that process for a substantial period, especially over the critical last two weeks,'' Wiggs said in a statement.

The government's sale of about 49 percent of Meridian Energy went on sale on Monday.

Wiggs said fees have been cut in the amended offer document after feedback that some investors "wanted to see lower fees in the case of a smaller raise.''

The intended manager of Punakaiki, Lance Wiggs Capital Management, which is 66.7 percent owned by Wiggs and 33.3 percent owned by Chris Humphreys, will cut its minimum management fee to $150,000 from the $300,000 proposed in the original prospectus.

The initial aggregated director fees have been cut to $15,000 and 30,000 shares respectively, from $40,000 in cash and the issue of 80,000 shares.

The company's directors include Wiggs, former South Canterbury Finance chief executive Sandy Maier and former Bell Gully partner Wayne Hudson.

The fund is intended as a "capital gain pay'' and won't pay dividends.

BusinessDesk