A$70bn of government bonds in 2018-19,
most of which will be raised from tenders
of around A$1bn each week.
In addition to the 2050 linker, the AOFM
intends to open a December 2030 nominal
bond line via syndication in the current
fiscal year ending on June 30 2019.
› PORT OF MELBOURNE READIES DEBUT
LONSDALE FINANCE, the issuing entity of
the Port of Melbourne, rated Baa2/BBB
(Moody’s/Fitch), has mandated ANZ and NAB
to arrange investor meetings in Australia
and Asia from September 17 for a potential
debut Australian dollar senior secured
issue.
The Lonsdale consortium of investors was
awarded a 50-year lease for the container
port, one of the largest in Australia, for
A$9.7bn in 2016.
“More than A$4.2bn of bank debt was
raised as part of the acquisition financing,
with the first maturity due in October
2019, which Fitch expects to be refinanced
through the capital markets,” Fitch wrote
in April this year.STRUCTURED FINANCE
› REDZED SETS RMBS GUIDANCERedZed has released price guidance for a
potential multi-tranche Australian dollar
RMBS, REDZED 2018-1.The collateral consists of housing
loans secured by registered first-ranking
mortgages on residential property
throughout Australia.
CBA is arranger and joint lead manager
with NAB.
For A$50m Class A1s notes with a 0.2-
year WAL price talk is one-month BBSW
plus 85bp area.
For A$175m Class A1l and A$88.125m A2
notes, both with 2.4-year WALs, guidance
is one-month BBSW plus 140bp–145bp area
and 200bp area, respectively.
For A$32.25m Class B, A$6.375m Class C
and A$7.125m Class D notes, all with 3.7-
year WALs, price talk is one-month BBSW
plus 230bp–240bp area, low 300s and low
400s, respectively.
For A$6m Class E and A$3.375m Class F
notes, with 3.6 and 2.3-year WALs, guidance
is one-month BBSW plus low 600s and low
700s.
The A$3.375m Class G1 and A$3.375m
Class G2 notes have been retained.
RedZed Lending Solutions specialises in
lending to self-employed people and those
who self-certify their incomes.
It issued a A$250m non-conformingTop bookrunners of Australian equity
1/1/18 – 31/8/18
Amount
Name Issues US$(m) %
1 UBS 16 4,616.0 23.0
2 Morgan Stanley 6 1,809.4 9.0
3 Macquarie 13 1,665.0 8.3
4 JP Morgan 9 1,638.6 8.2
5 Deutsche 3 1,222.5 6.1
6 Citigroup 11 917.9 4.6
7 BAML 1 883.3 4.4
8 Morgans Financial 23 804.4 4.0
9 Bell Financial 41 783.3 3.9
10 Goldman Sachs 5 739.1 3.7
Total 467 20,068.3
*Market volume
“Standard Exclusion not applicable”
Proportional credit
Source: Thomson Reuters SDC Code: AK2
Transurban raises bridge for WestConnex
Loans Bridge to be replaced with long-term PF after acquisition closeTRANSURBAN GROUP is raising A$1.1bn
(US$793m) through a bridge loan to back the
purchase of a controlling stake in a Sydney
toll road, the company said on August 31.
The bridge facility forms a very small
part of the A$9.3bn consideration
SYDNEY TRANSPORT PARTNERS, the winning
consortium, is paying to buy a 51% stake in
WestConnex.
Transurban (50%), pension fund
AustralianSuper (20.5%), Canada Pension
Plan Investment Board (20.5%) and Abu
Dhabi fund Tawreed Investments (9%) are
members of the consortium.
Transurban is raising the bulk of the
purchase consideration through equity- A$4.2bn via a 10-for-57 accelerated
pro rata renounceable entitlement offer
plus A$600m through a placement to
AustralianSuper and Tawreed.
S&P said the 100% equity funding of
Transurban’s share of the acquisition from
a total equity raising of A$4.8bn is credit
positive for the group’s financing arm,
Transurban Finance (BBB+/stable), and
consistent with the ratings.
The acquisition’s financial close
is expected late September, subject
to approval from Australia’s Foreign
Investment Review Board.
The unfinished 33-km (21-mile) road
cuts through Sydney’s burgeoning western
suburbs, and will be built in three stages.
It is the largest transport project in the city
since the Sydney Harbour Bridge, which was
completed in 1932.
Transurban expects WestConnex’s first full
year of operation will be in 2028.
The company said it will repay the bridge
loan through A$4bn in additional debt to be
raised by WestConnex at debt financial close- the dates at which debt for stages 1 and 3
can be drawn.
The A$4bn debt will fully refinance
stage 1 existing debt and also go towards
rebalancing the capital structure for that
phase of the project. Stage 1 involves the
construction of the M4 West and M4 East toll
roads. The former has been completed, while
M4 East is expected to be completed in the
financial year ending June 30 2019.
A A$600m construction facility will be
put in place at stage 3 to partially fund the
construction of the M4-M5 Link Mainline
tunnels and Rozelle Interchange and Iron
Cove Link.
The first two phases of the project were
financed through two separate project loans
totalling A$3.2bn.
Transurban won the bid for the
government auction of WestConnex, one of
Australia’s biggest transport infrastructure
projects, after obtaining clearance from
Australia’s competition regulator on
Thursday despite initial concerns about its
dominance of Sydney toll roads.
The company owns 100% of the Lane Cove
and Cross City tunnels, as well as the Hills
M2 motorway. It also owns 50% stakes in M7
and M5, along with a 75% stake in Sydney’s
M1 Eastern Distributor. It also has stakes in
toll roads in Brisbane, Melbourne and North
America.
STP beat an offer from another group
spearheaded by pension fund IFM Investors,
which owns toll roads in Europe, North
America and Sydney.
The New South Wales state government
will retain a 49% stake in WestConnex.
The government will use the sale proceeds
to fund the remainder of WestConnex
construction and also for other projects such
as schools and hospitals.
PRAKASH CHAKRAVARTI