(Bloomberg) -- An Australian coal terminal operator and its owner Brookfield Asset Management Inc. are seeking to raise at least A$656 million ($478 million) after setting a price for the nation’s biggest initial public offering so far this year.
Dalrymple Bay Infrastructure Ltd.’s IPO involves 500 million stapled securities, of which at least 255 million are marketed to new investors, according to terms of the deal obtained by Bloomberg News. The stapled securities are priced at A$2.57 each, the terms show.
The offer will test investor appetite for assets linked to Australia’s massive fossil fuel industry as some of the world’s biggest institutional investors target net-zero carbon emissions in their portfolio by 2050. The company holds a 99-year lease of Dalrymple Bay Terminal, the world’s largest metallurgical coal export terminal that handled 15% of global export volumes of the fuel last year, according to investor marketing information.
The deal will mark Australia’s largest IPO this year and is more than double the size of the A$300 million offer from real estate trust HomeCo Daily Needs last month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The Australian market is picking up after volatility plagued the prospects for fresh offerings for much of the year.
Dalrymple Bay’s pricing indication comes as underwriters this week continued to take investor commitments even with a majority of the shares already allocated. Queensland Investment Corp., an investment fund serving the northeastern Australian state in which the Brookfield business is based, committed to taking about 10% of shares following a recent roadshow, while Brookfield has opted to maintain 49% ownership in the listed enterprise.
Dalrymple Bay could realize an enterprise value of just over A$3 billion including its estimated market capitalization of A$1.29 billion plus a pro forma net debt of A$1.8 billion.
Metallurgical or coking coal has a much higher calorific content than the thermal coal used in power plants and is able to generate the heat needed for blast furnaces. Nearly all the steel made in China is produced using blast furnaces and there are few alternative feedstocks, though so-called green hydrogen from renewable energy may become economically viable in future.
The company will start taking investor orders from Nov. 19 and is slated to start trading on Dec. 8.
BofA Securities Inc., Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C). and Credit Suisse (SIX:CSGN) Group AG are the joint lead managers.
The offering could be overtaken before the end of the year by security software firm Nuix which plans to sell a majority stake of its business, currently being valued at A$1.75 billion, in coming weeks.
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