now the bet is 300m or 1b, page-3

http://business.smh.com.au/business/mir ... -5h2a.html

Mirvac extends trading halt to close deal

Carolyn Cummins Commercial Property Editor
November 4, 2008

MIRVAC has extended its trading halt until tomorrow while it finalises details of its $300 million capital raising and possible acquisitions.

But it has been suggested that Mirvac's largest shareholder, Nakheel Property in Dubai, which holds a 14.8 per cent stake, may not take up its entitlement as it is being hit by the global credit crisis.

However, the Barclays Group is likely to be involved as it emerged yesterday with a 5.03 per cent stake in Mirvac after having said it had recently sold out of GPT.

This and the distraction of today's Melbourne Cup were said to have prompted Mirvac's directors and advisers, JP Morgan, to delay the deal until the start of trade tomorrow.

Mirvac, the biggest home builder and residential property owner in NSW, may use some of the cash to buy other assets, despite its problems due to the fall in the housing market. The group said in a statement yesterday it was "reviewing possible initia- tives that currently remain incomplete and confidential".

"Mirvac is not yet in a position to announce these initiatives and potential transactions as they (or some or any of them) may or may not be finalised," it said.

One suggestion was that Mirvac could be in discussions with the Becton group, which has been hard hit by the credit crisis.

It has been widely tipped that the ING Office and ING Industrial funds could also raise some cash.

As well, some funds in the Macquarie stable - Dexus, Commonwealth Property Office (CPA) and even the already well-cashed up Westfield - may take advantage of the market's apparent happiness to support rights issues.

Mirvac's raising comes as the REIT sector is absorbing the impact of five other recent issues including the $300 million raising by Stockland, $104 million by FKP, $200 million from CFS Retail, $1.3 billion by GPT and Goodman's $900 million.

Peter Zuk, a property analyst at Goldman Sachs JBWere, said that from the firm's analysis "it appears that CPA, Dexus and Westfield are the next most likely to raise equity given they either need additional liquidity to fund developments or they have a cost of equity that would enable them to tap the equity market without excessive dilution".

"We believe Dexus is most likely to raise equity given it has made no change to its distribution policy (100 per cent payout ratio), whereas Mirvac has reduced its payout ratio," Mr Zuk said.