Shares in NIB (NHF) have continued to rise by as much as 11% today after the Newcastle-based health insurer made its debut on the ASX at a large premium yesterday.
NIB, the first private health insurer to make a public listing in Australia, started trading at $1.14 per share, almost 40% above its listing price.
NIB shares were offered at 85 cents per share, which gave it a market capitalisation of about $442 million.
The health insurer was worth $611 million by the end of trading yesterday, meaning the company's value as attributed by the market surged $200 million.
CEO of NIB Mark Fitzgibbon said the company was very pleased with the outcome, with 280,000 of its 330,000 policyholders becoming shareholders yesterday.
"Being the first health fund to list on the stock exchange has some level of satisfaction. But it is the end of the beginning. The true test is to continue to grow the company and trade above enterprise value."
The company said its decision to make a public listing gives it access to capital markets, which will aid growth through mergers and acquisitions.
"It would be presumptuous of me to specify which health fund is a takeover target as there are a total of 37 health funds in the country," said Mr Fitzgibbon.
NIB has about 7 per cent share of the private health insurance sector, which is dominated by the government-owned Medibank and MBF, which together account for 46 per cent of the market.
Both insurers are planning to list on the stock market next year.
NIB anticipates delivering a net profit of $32 million on premium revenue of $750.7 million in its first year as a public company. Market watchers believe the newly listed group could find itself a takeover target.
By mid afternoon, NIB was up by 9 cents at $1.27.
