Australia's APA completes A$675mn placement

Australian energy infrastructure company APA has successfully completed a A$675mn ($437.4mn) pro-rata institutional placement as part of its A$750mn equity raising initiative, it announced on August 24. This move is intended to fund APA's acquisition of Alinta Energy Pilbara.

The placement garnered strong support from both APA's existing security holders and new investors, leading to oversubscription at the placement price of A$8.50 per new stapled security. This pricing reflects an 8.2% discount to APA's closing price on August 22 and an 8.7% discount to its 5-day volume-weighted average price.

Approximately 79mn new securities will be issued under this placement, carrying the same rank as existing ordinary securities from the date of issuance.

Alongside the placement, APA has outlined plans for a non-underwritten security purchase plan (SPP) with the aim of raising around A$75mn from eligible security holders.

APA on August 23 announced its intent to acquire Alinta Energy Pilbara for A$1.7bn. Alinta Energy Pilbara possesses a range of operational assets, including gas and solar power generation, gas transmission, battery energy storage systems (BESS), and electricity transmission. Furthermore, it boasts a development pipeline comprising projects related to wind, solar, gas reciprocating engines, BESS, and associated electricity transmission.