On June 27, Qantas Chief Financial Officer Peter Gregg confirmed that Qantas had agreed to sell its 4.2 per cent stake in Air New Zealand.

The transaction was conducted via an overnight book build and resulted in a sale price of NZ$2.70 per share.

Mr Gregg said Qantas had acquired the shares in 2002 at an effective price of NZ$2.225 per share in association with its proposed Tasman Networks Agreement with Air New Zealand, which did not receive regulatory approval.

He said that following the sale of the shares, Qantas remained comfortable with its previous guidance that its 2006/07 profit before tax was in line with the average of market expectations.