Melbourne,
Melbourne,
The placement was underwritten by UBS Warburg, Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank and completed by a global overnight bookbuild.
Qantas Chief Executive Officer, Mr Geoff Dixon, said Qantas was very pleased with the response from investors, with the amount raised by the placement increased to $450 million to meet the strong demand for the offering.
The funds raised will enable Qantas to maintain a strong balance sheet through prudent funding of the expansion of our longer-term domestic fleet capacity. The new generation aircraft will allow Qantas to continue to improve services to our customers, Mr Dixon said.
Qantas also announced that all Australian and New Zealand shareholders will be able to subscribe for up to $3,000 worth of shares at the placement price of $3.05, without incurring brokerage or other transaction costs.
Qantas has a significant number of loyal small shareholders who have held their investment in Qantas since it was privatised. The Share Purchase Plan gives our shareholders the opportunity to participate in the equity raising at the same price as institutions, without incurring any charges, Mr Dixon said.
The date for determining entitlements to receive an offer under the Share Purchase Plan is 26 October 2001. The shares issued will rank equally with existing ordinary shares on issue. Any additional funds raised under the Share Purchase Plan will be used to fund the fleet expansion.
If the subscriptions received by Qantas from shareholders under the Share Purchase Plan exceed $230 million, Qantas will be required by law to scale back the number of shares issued to shareholders under this offer.
Full details of the Share Purchase Plan will be set out in documentation which will shortly be sent to shareholders.
Theodore is the Co-Founder and Managing Editor of TravelDailyNews Media Network; his responsibilities include business development and planning for TravelDailyNews long-term opportunities.
