Gas infrastructure operator APA Group has agreed to a deal for Alinta Energy Pty. Ltd.’s power networks in Australia’s mining heartland worth A$1.72 billion ($1.1 billion), including debt.
APA plans to raise A$675 million of new equity to fund the deal through an institutional placement, the company said in a statement on Wednesday. The new shares will be issued at A$8.50 each, an 8.2% discount to the closing price on Tuesday. The remainder of the agreement is funded by A$993 million of new debt and a A$75 million purchase plan for eligible shareholders, the company said.
The deal puts into new hands some of the biggest energy-generation assets powering industry in the vast and remote Pilbara region of Western Australia, an area synonymous with mines ranging from iron ore to lithium.
The expansion by APA is a big move at a moment of flux for energy providers. The deal adds a portfolio heavy with electricity infrastructure as pressure to shift Australia’s energy networks away from fossil fuels mounts — and even as many mining corporations that are turning electric have chosen to invest in their own on-site generation and storage.
Chow Tai Fook Enterprises Ltd., backed by Hong Kong billionaire Henry Cheng, began exploring options for the Australian enterprise more than a year ago, Bloomberg News reported at that time.
(Adds share raising details in the second paragraph. An earlier version was corrected to say it’s APA raising funds for the deal as well as the currency in the second paragraph.)
