Australia's Gunns Plans US$371 Mln Rights Issue
Date: 01-Sep-08
Country: AUSTRALIA
The company said the final offer price, and how many new shares existing holders would be entitled to, would be decided prior to an institutional share sale.
Gunns' debt-to-equity ratio will drop to 37.3 percent from 51.4 percent after the offer.
"he capital raising ... will be used to recapitalise the company's balance sheet, providing Gunns with a robust balance sheet to support future growth," Gunns' Executive Chairman John Gay said in a statement.
Gunns, which plans to build a pulp mill in Tasmania, said late on Thursday it was exploring various funding options for the project. It was also in talks with a number of potential parties to sell up to a 50 percent stake in the mill project, Gunns said.
The non-renounceable rights offer is being managed by Macquarie Group Ltd Credit Suisse and JP Morgan. The A$300 million institutional component of the offer is fully underwritten.
(US$1=A$1.16)
(Reporting by Denny Thomas)
