LENDLEASE LAUNCHES $1.15B EQUITY SCRAMBLE
GLOBAL development and construction giant Lendlease is seeking to raise up to $1.15 billion in fresh equity, in the biggest move by a property company in response to the coronavirus crisis.
Other stretched groups are expected to follow suit.
The move adds to the bumper $15 billion of equity raised this year as companies scramble to stabilise their balance sheets.
Lendlease is heavily exposed to hard-hit offshore markets, including key cities in Europe and the United States.
The company has tapped three investment banks – Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS – to undertake a $950 million rescue placement as it deals with a series of international and local projects that have been shut down or delayed.
The underwritten placement is being undertaken at $9.80 per share and will be followed by a $200 million share purchase plan for retail investors.
The price is an 8.2 per cent discount to Monday’s closing price and a far cry from the $19.28 it traded at in February.
Chief executive Steve McCann said the equity raising would strengthen the company’s balance sheet “during this uncertain economic environment”, support delivery of its pipeline and provide flexibility to purse further investment opportunities.
Lendlease’s pipeline of global projects includes a sprawling estate planned for Google in California and a series of urban regeneration projects in London, and it is also one of the biggest builders in New York.
It is also building James Packer’s Crown Resorts project at Barangaroo in Sydney and developing three neighbouring apartment towers.