KEY POINTS:
Listed commercial property investor AMP NZ Office Trust (ANZO) said yesterday it had raised $40 million in equity by selling new units.
ANZO is New Zealand's largest listed investor in premium and A-grade commercial office property.
A unit trust listed on the NZX, it owns 11 office buildings with a total value of more than $1 billion.
The institutional placement was announced this week, in conjunction with the $39.5 million acquisition of Wellington's AXA Centre.
The placement had strong support from New Zealand and foreign institutional investors with a number of new overseas institutions joining the ANZO register, executive manager Rob Lang said.
"We are very pleased with the support shown for the placement and the confidence the market has shown." The support was highlighted by the trust's ability to close the placement early.
Settlement and issue of the units is expected to take place on Monday.
The proceeds will be used to fund the acquisition of the AXA Centre, an A-grade building on The Terrace.
The building is occupied by institutional and government organisations, increasing ANZO's exposure to Government tenants and to the top-performing Wellington market.
The placement, which was managed by First NZ Capital, meant the trust's balance sheet was in a stronger position from which to grow the portfolio, Lang said.
Gearing (bank debt to total assets) had been reduced to 28.6 per cent, giving it approximately $195 million of bank debt capacity before reaching its self-imposed 40 per cent ceiling.
ANZO also intends to implement a unit purchase plan of a maximum of $5000 per unit-holder, which will allow all of its unit-holders to participate in the capital-raising and growth initiatives.
The proposed plan, is expected to be offered early in the New Year.
