(Bloomberg) -- A Transurban Group-led consortium agreed to buy 51 percent of Sydney's WestConnex toll road for A$9.26 billion ($6.7 billion), doubling its network in Australia's largest city.
Transurban will raise A$4.2 billion in a rights issue to help fund the acquisition, and a further A$600 million from other members of the bidding group, the Melbourne-based company said in a statement. The shares will be sold at A$10.80 each, a 10 percent discount to the latest closing price.
WestConnex includes 33 kilometers (21 miles) of new or improved motorways linking Sydney's fast-growing west and southwest suburbs with the central business district, and to the airport and Port Botany. The deal will double Transurban's network as measured by lane kilometers, the company said.
Transurban's partners include AustralianSuper Pty, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and Abu Dhabi Investment Authority's Tawreed unit.
Transurban already controls 15 of 19 toll roads in Australia, including seven of nine in New South Wales state. The company is extending its footprint in Melbourne, building the West Gate Tunnel after the Victorian government accepted its unsolicited bid.
To contact the reporter on this story: Peter Vercoe in Sydney at pvercoe@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Edward Johnson at ejohnson28@bloomberg.net, Chris Bourke, Michael Heath
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