UPDATE 2-ABC Learning raises A$82 mln in share placement
(Adds ABC confirmation on capital raising, updates shares)
SYDNEY, June 10 (Reuters) - A.B.C. Learning Centres Ltd ABS.AX, Australia's top child care operator, said on Tuesday it has raised A$82.2 million ($78.3 million) by selling new shares at a 15 percent discount to its Friday closing price.
The new funds will be used to reduce A.B.C.'s hefty debt burden, which at the end of last year stood at A$1.677 billion. The company ran into difficulties earlier this year as it struggled to refinance debt amid a global credit crunch.
About 13 percent of the new shares were taken up by Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia and the rest by Lazard Asset Management.
The latest fund raising comes after A.B.C. agreed to sell 60 percent of its U.S. business to Morgan Stanley Private Equity in April to cut its debt.
Various other initiatives planned by A.B.C. are expected to bring in between A$790-A$810 million in cash proceeds, which would also be used to lower its net debt.
"This investment in ABC underscores our commitment to the company and its long-term growth prospects," Chin Chou, Chief Executive of Morgan Stanley Private Equity Asia said.
"We look forward to partnering A.B.C.'s management team to optimise the company's performance and market presence," he added.
A.B.C. shares fell as much as 8.2 percent to A$1.24 after it resumed trading following the fund raising, while the benchmark S&P/ASX 200 index .AXJO was down 2.4 percent.
A.B.C. became a high profile Australian casualty of the credit crisis after its shares lost as much as 75 percent in value in February on concerns over high debt levels.
After establishing its presence in Australia, A.B.C. pursued a debt-funded expansion and acquired child care operators in the United States and the U.K. The stock traded as high as A$8.45 last year.
But as the cost of credit surged amid the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis, A.B.C. struggled to refinance its short-debt which led to the sale of part of its stake in the U.S. business.
Founder and Chief Executive Eddy Groves had to sell nearly all his stake in the company as a steep fall in the share price triggered margin calls on loans he had taken with his shares a security.
A.B.C. also said it now expects the sale of its U.K. Vouchers business to close after June 30, and the anticipated A$100 million gain from the deal would be recognised in 2009 fiscal year.
The U.K. Vouchers business involves the administration of child care rebates offered by the corporates to parents. ($1=A$1.05) (Reporting by Denny Thomas; Editing by James Thornhill)
