Wynyard to dual list on ASX

Crime-fighting software company Wynyard Group [NZX: WYN] says it will dual list on the Australian stock exchange later this year.

Auckland-based Wynyard has been listed on the New Zealand stock exchange since July 2013 – where it intends to stay – but has appointed UBS New Zealand to advise on an ASX listing. 

The ASX listing is expected to happen in the third quarter of this year.

Wynyard Group chief executive Craig Richardson says an ASX listing is a logical strategic move for the company, since it has a growing number of Australian investors and a significant part of its revenue and growth comes from the Asia-Pacific region.

“Listing on ASX will enable more Australian and foreign investors to hold Wynyard stock, participate in the company's growth and increase the attractiveness of Wynyard shares.  We also expect it will increase our profile with Australian customers and the board believes that dual listing will benefit all shareholders.”

The company’s crime analytics and risk assessment software is used by the London Metropolitan Police and the New Zealand and Australian police forces, global banks and corporations.

Wynyard is also ramping up its push into the US market, focusing on the government, financial services and critical infrastructure markets.

In February, Wynyard announced the Marion County Sheriff’s Office in Florida was using its analytics software to help 92 US law enforcement agencies tackle a nationwide identity theft ring – The Felony Lane Gang – that is estimated to have stolen millions of dollars in at least 34 states over the past 10 years.

Last month the company, which was spun out of Jade Software, near doubled its annual loss to $22.3 million, more than twice the level forecast in its share float prospectus.

Revenue rose to $26 million, just below its $27 million prospect forecast. The revenue lag was caused by a delay in about four large government contracts being signed, meaning negotiations have pushed on into 2015.

Yesterday, Wynyard announced it had appointed Louis Grever, a former senior official at the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), to its board.