AMP NZ office trust to raise $30m

Listed property owner AMP NZ Office Trust (Anzo) today announced plans to raise about $30 million in a placement to local and offshore institutional investors.

Anzo said the funds raised would be used "to pursue a range of potential investment opportunities within the New Zealand office market" while maintaining gearing ratio at about current levels and enhancing unitholder returns, Anzo executive manager Rob Lang said in a statement.

The placement of 34.5 million units is equal to 6.5 per cent of pre-placement units on issue including Mandatory Convertible Notes issued earlier this year.

The placement, underwritten by investment bank UBS, would consist of a bookbuild starting today at noon with a starting price of 87c per unit.

Anzo owns high profile office buildings, mainly in Auckland and Wellington, and has assets of approximately $766 million.

Its units closed at 93c yesterday and were placed in a trading halt this morning before trading opened. Trading in its units is expected to resume tomorrow,or sooner if the bookbuild is completed earlier.

Anzo has forecast its distribution to unitholders will increase by 1.4 per cent to 7.3 cents per unit in the June 2005 year.

"There are potential opportunities consistent with our strategy that we want to capture. We expect the invested funds to be accretive to earnings for the 2006 financial year and beyond," Mr Lang said.

In addition, the trust plans to implement a unit purchase plan of $5000 per unitholder which will be offered in the first quarter of the new year at the lower of either the placement price or the prevailing market value of the units.

"This will allow all of Anzo's unitholders to participate in the capital-raising and growth initiatives," Mr Lang said. Further details on the plan would be announced early next year.

- NZPA