The facility, which was originally arranged by New York-based investment banking firm Jesup & Lamont Securities Corporation, was extended by a further 12 months until September 26, 2004. The original deal was struck on September 27, 2001.

The facility enables Sydney Gas to issue up to 14.75 million freely tradeable shares with 1-for-4 attaching options to Dunsinane at any time over a two-year period, provided that the weighted average share price is greater than 44c.

Dunsinane can elect to take an additional 20 per cent of the shares placed each time, to a maximum of 2.95 million shares, but without the free options.

Sydney Gas said the facility gave it the security of having capital readily available, plus the flexibility to tap other sources of funds when they became available. Sydney Gas added the facility, while new to Australia, is commonly used in the Europe and the United States.