Orora launches $1.35b equity raise | Bendigo puts Homesafe on the block | Vic bus bigwig Ventura lures offshore bidders

Good morning,

In a year when ECM bankers have been starved of big capital raises, Orora’s monster $1.35 billion equity raise (the biggest since Atlas Arteria) should have got everyone’s blood pumping, but it wasn’t to be.
As Orora resumed trading on Wednesday, shares opened at $2.85 – above the $2.70 offer price but a fair way off the $3.16 theoretical ex-rights price (TERP). They recovered somewhat through the day, trading as high as $2.95 and closing at $2.88.
That’s not exactly great. And neither was the 83 per cent institutional takeup for its non-renounceable rights issue. Even with the sword of dilution hanging above their heads, a big chunk of its investors chose to forgo the deal.

Part of Orora’s problem was the size of the transaction. It essentially bet itself to acquire a $2.15 billion business from Carlyle on the other side of the world – funded by $1.35 billion in fresh equity and $875 million in debt.
The retail offer is scheduled to open on Tuesday.
At some point, there will be $875 million worth of bridging debt that should get shown to prospective lenders.

Happy reading,

Homesafe’s total investment portfolio has been steadily revalued upwards since 2020, rising from $779 million in June 2020 to $957 million at June 30.

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