Deal: Allens has advised Sydney Airport on its $2 billion equity raising, structured as a fully underwritten pro-rata accelerated renounceable entitlement offer, with retail rights trading (PAITREO).

Area: Equity capital markets. 

Key players: The Allens team consisted of lead partner Julian Donnan and partners Robert Pick and Marc Kemp along with senior associate Addison Ma and associates Lisa Gao and Jewel Zhu.

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Deal significance: Sydney Airport is aiming to raise $2 billion after reporting on the financial impacts of COVID-19 in its FY20 interim report.

CEO Geoff Culbert says the equity raising will position the airport for the future.

“Sydney Airport took pre-emptive action at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, putting in place significant liquidity which gave us the flexibility to monitor how the situation evolved,” he said.

“Six months into the pandemic, there remains uncertainty as to how long it will take for aviation markets to return to pre-COVID-19 levels.”

The offer is the first PAITREO offer by an issuer since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic (and the first in 2020). The PAITREO structure is designed to provide fairness for all securityholders, in particular retail securityholders, as it allows retail securityholders to potentially receive value for their entitlement throughout the offer period.

“This entitlement offer represents decisive action by Sydney Airport to address not only its liquidity and balance sheet, but to enable it to pursue potential growth opportunities should they arise in the future,” said Mr Donnan, Allens co-head of equity capital markets (ECM),” Mr Pick, Allens co-head of ECM added.

“We are honoured to have worked alongside Sydney Airport, a [longstanding] client of Allens, as it safeguards its future in these uncertain times.

“Whilst most issuers in recent months have adopted a placement/SPP or accelerated non-renounceable entitlement (ANREO) offer structure for their equity raisings, Sydney Airport stated that they had chosen the PAITREO structure as it was the fairest structure for all [securityholders].”