Radio New Zealand - Te Reo Irirangi o Aotearoa

Listing on cards for airline tech company

Updated at 7:26 am on 29 January 2013

An Auckland company creating cloud-based operation systems for airlines is considering listing on the stock exchange this year to raise the money it needs to expand overseas.

Merlot Aero, founded in 2008 by chief executive Mark McCaughan, allows airlines to organise their daily operations, from flight crews to aircraft logistics, through the web.

It is the only company in the world offering such a solution.

The company has six staff in New Zealand and a pool of 30 software developers working for it globally.

Merlot has grown rapidly, winning 24 new contracts in Asia, Australia and Canada in the past two years and Mr McCaughan says they want to get a foothold in the US market this year.

Mr McCaughan says Merlot is considering a listing on the NZX to raise funds it needs to expand globally.

"This business is doing very well in an organic growth sense but we need access to capital to be able to grow big enough to achieve our lofty goals."

He says to date, it's been a struggle to access capital in New Zealand as the company is too large for angel investors and too small for venture capitalists. He says a listing could give the company access to capital grow its customer base and product range.

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