Brookfield syndicates $1.9b Asciano acquisition debt facility
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners syndicated a $1.9 billion debt facility to finance its $8.9 billion Asciano takeover on Thursday night, sources said.
ANZ Banking Group, Barclays, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank and HSBC were the mandated lead arrangers on the acquisition facility.
It's understood half the debt matures in five years time, while the other half is due in three years.
The facility was said to be heavily oversubscribed. Sources said the mandated lead arrangers locked in a number of underlying investors, while retaining some of the debt on their balance sheets.
The $9.15 a share cash and scrip offer, foreshadowed by Street Talk, was recommended by Asciano's board last month.
Brookfield has also been working on getting the offer approved by the competition watchdog.
Its submission to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has proposed better auditing and improved dispute resolution processes to assuage concerns that merging its assets with Asciano's will hurt competition.
Meanwhile, the company has launched an investor roadshow, as it seeks to convince Asciano shareholders to hold onto Brookfield stock if the deal goes through.
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