SingPower prices its float at lower end of the range

SYDNEY - SP AusNet, the Australian unit of Singapore Power, has priced its IPO at the lower end of an indicative range, raising about A$1.4 billion ($1.48 billion), as the market struggles to digest a slew of infrastructure floats.

A source at Morgan Stanley, a joint lead manager of the float, said the final IPO price was A$1.38 a share, compared with a range of A$1.29 to A$1.57 that was used to market the stock to institutions.

A total of 1.025 billion shares, representing 49 per cent of SingPower's holding, will be listed in Sydney and Singapore on December 14.

The issue is the latest offer from power utilities eager to list their Australian assets and woo investors with solid dividend yields, though some analysts said the market might struggle to take on an oversupply of infrastructure floats.

The SP AusNet IPO comes after the A$700 million listing of Alinta Infrastructure in October, and ahead of next week's float of Spark Infrastructure, owned by CKI Holdings and Hong Kong Electric.

Australian Gas Light is due to spin off its infrastructure business in April.

SingPower's Australian expansion was achieved through its A$2.1 billion acquisition in 2000 of an electricity transmission business and the recent takeover of TXU's assets.

- REUTERS