Overall, the raising was one and a half times oversubscribed with companies only too eager to take the $6.75 placement price for $200 million in new shares. However, the price was at the very bottom of the expected pricing range.

Alinta also offered investors an additional 0.532 rights per share as a sweetener, which banking commentators said put the effective placement price at A$6.11.

The raising is the first part of a combination of fund raising deals needed for Alinta to complete its $1.69 billion acquisition of Duke Energy's Australian assets.

The company will now look to investors for another $468 million via a three-for-seven renounceable rights issue pitched at just $5.50 a share, a 25% discount to the stock's average price over the five days before it made the winning bid for the Duke assets.

Alinta said the deal costs would be about A$158 million, including fees for bankers and lawyers, and taxes on property transactions known as stamp duties. It did not give a breakdown.

Meanwhile, Dampier-Bunbury pipeline owner Epic Energy has been awarded an extension on its existing six month debt standstill agreement, giving it until June 30 to repay $1.85 billion still owed to 28 banks.