Comvita raises $30 million and brings Singapore giant on board as strategic investor

Manuka honey exporter Comvita is raising up to $30 million in new shares and welcoming Singapore consumer giant Fraser and Neave as a strategic investor, in a move the company says will give it the financial footing to pursue long-term growth after a difficult period.

The NZX-listed company announced on Wednesday that it would conduct a rights offer at 65 cents per share — a 4.4 per cent discount to its last traded price of 68 cents. Existing shareholders will be entitled to purchase one new share for every 1.53 shares they currently hold. The offer opens on 23 April and closes on 7 May, with new shares expected to begin trading on 18 May.

Proceeds from the raise will be used primarily to repay bank debt, alongside a new $20 million working capital facility that forms part of the broader refinancing package. The combination of new equity and restructured debt is designed to reduce interest costs and give the business more flexibility to invest in its brands and markets.

The headline element of the announcement is the entry of Fraser and Neave, the Singapore-listed consumer group, onto the Comvita register. F&N Ventures, a subsidiary of Fraser and Neave, will take a 19.99 per cent stake in the company as a strategic investor. For a premium Australasian natural health brand seeking deeper penetration into Asian markets, the partnership carries obvious potential. Fraser and Neave has extensive distribution networks, digital capabilities, and consumer relationships across South-East Asia and beyond — assets Comvita has been working to access more effectively for years.

Comvita chair Bridget Coates described the package as “a significant milestone” that provides “stability and financial flexibility to build on the company’s improved position and deliver long-term value.” The board anticipates the F&N relationship will bring channel expansion, product innovation opportunities, and operational efficiencies, in addition to the direct financial benefit of having a well-capitalised strategic shareholder on the register.

The announcement comes after a turbulent stretch for the Tauranga-based company. In November 2025, shareholders voted to reject a proposed acquisition by Florenz, a private equity vehicle that had sought to take the business private. That outcome returned Comvita to the market as an independent listed company, obliged to chart its own course through a challenging export environment marked by high costs, shifting consumer demand in China, and margin pressure across the natural health category.

Comvita is one of the world’s best-known producers of manuka honey and manuka-derived health products. Its products carry the UMF rating system — a measure of the unique bioactive properties found in honey produced from New Zealand’s native manuka plant — and command significant premium pricing in export markets including China, Japan, South Korea, and North America. The brand has genuine global recognition but translating that recognition into consistent profitability has proven harder than early investors anticipated when the company went through a period of rapid expansion.

The raise and the F&N partnership together represent a deliberate reset. Rather than pursuing aggressive growth through new product lines or geographic expansion, the company appears to be prioritising financial stability, debt reduction, and the patient development of strategic relationships in high-value Asian markets. The Fraser and Neave connection gives it a credible path into Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, and other markets where the F&N distribution footprint is well-established.

For NZ primary sector investors, the story has broader significance. Comvita is one of a handful of listed companies that derive their value almost entirely from a uniquely New Zealand agricultural product. Manuka honey is not something that can be produced in bulk outside the country — the manuka plant grows wild across New Zealand and parts of Australia, but the concentration of bioactive compounds that gives the honey its health properties is most reliably achieved in New Zealand conditions. That natural moat is Comvita’s core competitive asset, and a well-resourced strategic investor with Asian consumer reach has the potential to unlock value from it that Comvita has so far struggled to capture on its own.

The rights offer will be fully underwritten, giving the board confidence the $30 million target will be met regardless of how strongly existing shareholders choose to participate. The refinancing package replaces existing bank facilities that had become a constraint on the business, and the new working capital facility is expected to provide more headroom for seasonal inventory and production requirements.

Comvita’s full-year results are not due until later in the year, but the capital raise and strategic partnership announcement signals that management and the board are confident enough in the company’s underlying trading position to bring new investors onto the register at current prices. The market will be watching closely to see whether the F&N relationship delivers on its promise — and whether the financial restructuring gives Comvita the runway it needs to return to consistent profitability.

You can read the full NZX announcement here and RNZ’s coverage here.

Are you a Comvita shareholder, or do you follow the NZ natural health sector? Share your thoughts on the deal in the comments below.