The stock opened at $NZ1.67 ($1.53) a share and briefly traded as high as $NZ1.71, 10 per cent above the $NZ1.55 offer price.

The $NZ600 million company will trade on the Australia bourse later on Tuesday.

Tegel was priced at the lower end of its $1.55 to $2.50 range, raising just under $300 million from investors. At that price, the company was valued at 8-times forward earnings.

The company had revenue of $563 million in 2014-15 and is expected to hit $581 million in 2015-16.

The float of Tegel is tipped to be a forerunner for the $1 billion-plus IPO of leading Australian chicken farmer, Inghams, which is expected to hit the ASX boards later this year.

Inghams owner, private equity firm TPG, is understood to be closely watching Tegel's float and bankers have already become sounding out potential investors.

Tegal, established in 1961, is the No.1 poultry brand across New Zealand major supermarkets and has global ambitions.

The company already exports to Hong Kong, United Arab Emirates, Australia and the Pacific Islands, and expects its international customers will account for 25 per cent of overall revenue in the next 5 years.

Growth rates for its export business have jumped from 3 per cent to 37 per cent in the past three years. It is the only company that can export fully cooked chickens to Australia, which has fuelled it export growth and expansion into Asia and the Middle East.

It is understood part of the capital raised in the float could go to ramping up production for export, given its factory at Auckland is close to full capacity.

The company is expected to make north of $NZ80 million in earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation in the coming year.

Its board is targeting a dividend payout ratio of 60 to 75 per cent. This implies a dividend yield of 4.4 to 5.1 per cent.

Deutsche Bank and Wilson HTM were the deal's joint lead managers.