Fundraising

Brookfield Infra raises $648m in oversubscribed offer

Strong demand has seen the Toronto asset manager raise an extra $60m in its recently announced public offering. Proceeds from the offer will be used to finance new Chilean acquisitions and its Australian portfolio. Brookfield will continue to hold 30% of its infrastructure unit.

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Brookfield Asset Management is now expecting to net $648 million from a multimillion-unit offering of its flagship listed infrastructure fund – Brookfield Infrastructure Partners (BIP)– when the offer closes tomorrow, the Toronto asset manager has announced.

Strong demand from the market for BIP has seen Brookfield repeatedly revise the amount it was seeking to raise. Initially, Brookfield sought to raise $500 million for BIP, but the offering was increased to $588 million, with an over-allotment option, “due to strong investor demand”. That over-allotment option, which was exercisable within a month of the offer’s October 26 closing date, has already been fully subscribed to and is set to bring in an additional $60 million, Brookfield said.

BIP will use $150 million from the fundraise to finance its recent purchase of two toll roads in Chile – Tunel San Cristobal and Vespucio Norte – from Spanish developer ACS. An additional $150 million will help finance its railroad asset in Australia with the rest of the proceeds to be used to repay debt.

Brookfield is also participating in the capital increase “in order to maintain its approximate 30 percent interest in BIP on a fully exchanged basis”. The exercise of the over-allotment option has led the Toronto asset manager to spend an extra $26 million to keep its stake in BIP at the desired level.

In September, Brookfield announced its plan to recombine its renewable energy portfolio into a second publicly listed partnership which could top $13 billion. A unit-holder vote on that plan is pending.