Government raises $365m from Air NZ sale THE NZ government has raised about $NZ365 million from selling 20 per cent of Air New Zealand shares. The off-market sale went through at $1.65 a share, meaning there was enough demand from investors to ensure the sale wasn't at a discount to its last trading price on Friday. The government's stake in the national airline has been reduced to 53 per cent. State Owned Enterprises Minister Tony Ryall said there was "significant demand from New Zealand retail broking firms and New Zealand institutions, including a number of KiwiSaver participants, which together purchased 186 million of the 221 million shares sold." The lack of discount in the price means there is scope for the shares to rise when they resume trading on Wednesday, given the overhang of the government's holding is reduced and some index-weighted institutions will be looking to increase their holdings. The shares were pitched at $1.60 and BusinessDesk understands the entire holding was bid at that price by the close of trading on Monday. The sale has been completed just three days before the referendum on state asset sales, which starts on November 22. The stock was rated a "buy" based on the consensus of six analyst recommendations compiled by Reuters, with a median price target of $1.94. Local institutions have typically been underweight the stock because of its scarcity to date.