AWB raises $220m from institutions

Grains marketer and rural services provider AWB Ltd has raised $220 million from an
oversubscribed sale of new shares to institutional investors.
AWB raised $120 million through an institutional entitlement offer and a further
$100 million in an institutional placement, the company said in a statement on
Friday.
"The institutional offer was significantly oversubscribed, with strong demand from
both new and existing institutional shareholders," chief executive Gordon Davis
said.
"We are very pleased with the positive response from our shareholders, which
demonstrates their ongoing support for AWB and our ability to attract new
investors."
The new shares will be issued on October 8.
AWB will raise a further $239 million through an entitlement offer for retail, or
small, shareholders, which will open on October 2.
Deutsche Bank AG, Goldman Sachs JBWere and UBS AG are joint lead managers.
AWB announced on Wednesday that it would seek to raise $459 million from the sale of
new shares - $359 million in a one-for-one entitlement offer and $100 million in an
institutional placement - to reduce debt.
AWB is offering the new shares at $1 each, a 31 per cent discount to the closing
price of $1.445 prior to the announcement of the offer.
The equity raising will allow AWB to reduce its net debt to $490 million by
September 30, from $1.136 billion the year before.
AWB shares were 9.75 cents higher at $1.32 on Friday.