Perth airport seeks bond refinancing
Perth Airport Pty Ltd, a subsidiary of Perth Airport Development Group (PADG), which operates and maintains Perth Airport, has issued AU$400 million bonds due 2021 that will be used to refinance existing debt facilities. The deal was arranged by National Australia Bank and Westpac Banking Corporation. Law firm Allens advised the company to enter the domestic debt capital market.
James Darcy, who leads the Debt Capital Markets team at Allens, stated:
"Since the decline of the monolines, Australian infrastructure assets have predominantly been funded through shorter term bank debt. We are now seeing increasing activity from single asset infrastructure companies seeking diversification in the domestic bond market as well as offshore capital markets.This is particularly the case for brownfield assets with an operating history and predictable cashflows.Infrastructure companies are clearly interested in obtaining longer term tenor to better match the longer term nature of their asset base. We have seen an increase in seven-year bond issuances over the past year, and in many ways seven has become the new five in terms of tenor. The question is whether the domestic market can stretch out to tenors of 10 years and beyond, something many in the market would be keen to see."
As the fourth busiest airport in Australia, Perth Airport Pty Ltd. comprises both domestic and international terminals. In recent years, it has grown significantly to meet increasing demand for intrastate, interstate and overseas travel, largely due to Western Australia's thriving economy and healthy resources sector.
The airport is located in the suburb of Perth Airport and It has been operated since 1997 by Perth Airport Pty Limited, a private company (formerly Westralia Airports Corporation Pty Ltd), under a 99-year lease from the Commonwealth Government.
The shareholders of PADG are:- Utilities of Australia Pty Ltd ATF Utilities Trust of Australia (UTA) - 38.3%
- The Northern Trust Company (TNTC) in its capacity as custodian for Future Fund Investment Company No.3 Pty Ltd (FFIC3), a wholly owned subsidiary of The Future Fund Board of Guardians (FFBG)- 29.7%
- Utilities of Australia Pty Ltd ATF Perth Airport Property Fund (PAPF) - 17.3%
- The Private Capital Group Pty Ltd as trustee for The Infrastructure Fund - 4.3%
- AustralianSuper Pty Ltd - 5.0%
- Citicorp Nominees Pty Ltd as custodian for Commonwealth Bank Officers Superannuation Corporation Pty Ltd as trustee for Commonwealth Bank Group Super - 3.2%
- Sunsuper Pty Ltd - 2.2%
