UPDATE 1-Tabcorp raises A$284 mln in rare retail bonds

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SYDNEY, April 30 (Reuters) - Tabcorp Holdings Ltd (TAH.AX),
Australia's largest gaming group, has raised A$284 million
($205 million) in five-year retail bonds, it said on Thursday,
more than the A$200 million it initially sought.

The extra demand came from a public offer which closed
earlier in the week.

Tabcorp will list the senior bonds on Friday on the
Australian Stock Exchange. Such a listing is rare in Australia
where corporate bonds are usually snapped up by professional
investors.

The bonds are different from the various hybrid securities
which have been issued by Australian companies and financial
institutions in recent years.

The Tabcorp bond holders will rank equally with the firm's
bank loans and debt securities, all rated BBB-plus by Standard
& Poor's, as opposed to hybrids which are subordinated to
senior debt.

Around 90 percent of the Tabcorp bonds were bought by
individual investors, including Tabcorp's own shareholders,
with the rest placed with institutional investors.

The offer will pay an initial interest rate of 7.33
percent, the equivalent of a margin of 425 basis points over
bank bill swap BBSW set earlier in the month.

Procceds of the offer will help refinance debt.

ANZ Securities, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs JBWere, National
Australia Bank and UBS Investment Bank jointly led the issue.

Tabcorp is the first non-financial corporate bond sale in
Australia since property firm Stockland's (SGP.AX) visit in
November 2007.

Since then, local bond issuance has been monopolised by
financial institutions.

Just this year, over A$26 billion has been issued in the
local bond market, according to Deutsche data, almost all of it
backed by an Australian government guarantee introduced last
November to boost liquidity amid the financial crisis.

The Tabcorp offer is expected to pave the way for similar
bond issues.

"A lot of issuers have been waiting and watching Tabcorp's
offer," said Adam Vise, head of equity syndicate at ANZ.

He anticipates seeing borrowers from sectors relatively
resilient to recessions, such as utilities, retailers and
telecommunications.

"There is potential in the next year for up to five or six
more (retail bond) issues at around A$300 million each," he
said.
($1=1.38 Australian Dollar)
(Reporting by Cecile Lefort)