Toll sold its Toll Rail, TranzMetro, TranzScenic and Interislander ferry services to the Government for $665 million.
National Party leader John Key said yesterday that Labour had been prepared to deliver the Australian shareholders of Toll a $235 million windfall at the expense of struggling New Zealand taxpayers.
"A clear sign of this was the massive surge in Toll's value yesterday as the market recognised just how much of a ride Kiwi taxpayers had been taken for."
Toll's value on the Australian sharemarket rose by $A250 million ($NZ294 million) off the back of the sale news.
Research by ABN Amro Craigs seemed to back up some of the claims made by Mr Key.
ABN broker Chris Timms said the sale price represented a 54.7% premium to the book value for the assets of $430 million, generating a gain of $235 million.
On Toll Group's current earnings market multiple for 2009, the transaction looked to be completed at a premium.
However, on the valuation multiple for the Toll NZ business, the transaction was completed at a slight discount.
"We view the sale of the Toll NZ rail and ferry assets back to the New Zealand Crown as a small positive for Toll as this relieves the company of an issue - rail access arrangements - that has been dogging it in recent years."
Toll retained its TranzLink business focused on freight forwarding, warehousing and logistics.
Toll NZ business now represented only about 2% of the overall Toll group, Mr Timms said.
Toll Holdings was expected to soon announce an acquisition in New Zealand, reinforcing the Australian company's stated commitment to this country in the wake of the sale of its rail assets to the Government.
Toll Holdings managing director Paul Little said the Government deal was a compromise as Toll had not wanted to sell.
The sale left him and Toll NZ chief executive David Jackson feeling flat but without an agreement on access fees to the government-owned rail track Toll felt it could not invest with any security over the return on that investment, he said.
But the deal also left the company with a "war chest".
Mr Little said the company was looking at three businesses here. One acquisition was very close and had been held up with regulators. The company expected to announce it later this week.
It was medium-sized, but an "important one".
Since purchasing Tranz Rail, Toll had bought stevedoring firms, and several trucking companies.
The stevedoring business, which had a presence in virtually all New Zealand ports, was now separately owned by Asciano, a company that split out of Toll.
Toll had said New Zealand was an attractive freight forwarding market from which to support customers sourcing product from Asia.
Melbourne-based Toll has grown from small beginnings by acquiring businesses and it is now expanding into Asia.
The company tries to operate across the whole supply chain so it can offer a total logistics solution to customers.
It argues that a lot of value is lost because supply chains are inefficient. If supply chains are more efficient customers can reduce inventories.
Toll has been a keen promoter of rail, saying it is three times more efficient than road.
Mr Little said that no rail network in the world had had enough spent on it in recent years and the catch up costs, and who should pay for the maintenance deficit in the past, was an issue for current operators.
Toll would now be Crown-owned rail's largest customer in New Zealand, spending about $60 million a year.
