A consortium including The Future Fund, AGL Energy, Queensland Investment Corporation and Mercury Energy has tapped a sydnicate of at least five banks to fund its $NZ2.96 billion offer for Tilt Renewables after fending off competition in an auction for the business.
The banking syndicate includes National Australia Bank, CBA, MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and the Sydney branch of Societe Generale
The consortium’s offer equates to $NZ7.80 per share for the wind and solar farm owner which is a 99 per cent premium to its last closing share price of $NZ3.92.
The deal was reached at the weekend and announced to the market Monday.
QIC, AGL and the Future Fund bid through its Powering Australian Renewables Fund.
Offering fire power to the proposal was understood to be Aware Super, which is an investor in QIC’s Global Investment Fund.
Mercury already owns 19.92 per cent of Tilt and will take the New Zealand assets at an enterprise value of NZ$770m with the other consortium members to own the remainder.
The consortium has fended off competition for the listed renewable energy owner from APA Group, CDPQ and Engie with ICG.
DataRoom understands that at least two other parties put forward an offer that valued the listed group at more than NZ$7 per share, with an underbidder in the final stages of the contest said to be close in price to the winning NZ$7.80 per share offer.
Final offers were due on Friday for Tilt, which is listed in Australia and New Zealand and owns solar and wind farms in both countries.
The Powering Australia fund was advised by Bank of America and Jarden
Mercury Energy, which owns 19.9 per cent of Tilt, was advised by Citi, and Forsyth Barr.
On offer has been a 65.6 per cent interest in Tilt Renewables owned by the Goldman Sachs-advised Infratil, which placed the interest on the market in a defensive move after it rejected a $5.1bn takeover bid from AustralianSuper.
But suitors had been invited by Tilt Renewables’ Adviser Lazard to bid for the entire company.
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