Alumina: Finance Unit To Raise Around US$300 Million

SYDNEY -(Dow Jones)- Alumina Ltd. (AWC.AU) said Tuesday its wholly owned finance subsidiary, Alumina Finance Limited, has launched a convertible bond offering to raise approximately US$300 million.

The bonds, which have a maturity of five years, will be convertible into fully paid ordinary shares of the company, Alumina said.

Proceeds from the fundraising will be used to replace existing bank debt and to fund ongoing projects.

Goldman Sachs International is sole lead manager on the deal, with the book build due to complete before the open of Australian trading Wednesday.

In November, Alumina established a A$1.0 billion shelf medium-term note program, the company’s first such foray into the capital debt markets.