ASX-listed fund manager Perpetual has used Fonterra Cooperative Group's food scare to trawl for cheap units in the dairy exporter's listed fund.
Funds managed by Perpetual bought about 1.26 million units, or 1.17 per cent, of Fonterra Shareholders' Fund for some $A7.32 million ($NZ8.33 million) on August 5, when the price plunged in the first trading day after the dairy company said some of its product may have been tainted by bacteria that can cause botulism.
The average purchase price was just under $A5.83 ($NZ6.63) per unit, and takes Perpetual's stake in the fund to almost 10 per cent, according to a substantial shareholder notice filed with the New Zealand and Australian stock exchanges.
The Fonterra fund's price has recovered since the dive, closing on the ASX on Wednesday at $A6.20, meaning Perpetual's bottom-trawling has already achieved an unrealised gain of some $A470,000, or about 6.4 per cent.
Fonterra chief executive Theo Spierings told media on Wednesday all potentially contaminated whey protein product has been accounted for, and he was satisfied the food scare had stabilised.
Perpetual has some $A25.3 billion under management as at June 30, according to a stock exchange filing last month. Its shares fell 3.6 per cent to $A38.78 on the ASX on Wednesday, having gained about 12 per cent this year.
