National Grid rights issue gets 94% take-up

14th Jun 2010 07:01

Most of National Grid's shareholders, 94.2%, have taken up their rights as part of the gas and electricity supplier's £3.2bn cash call announced last month.The fundraising, fully underwritten by Morgan Stanley, BofA Merrill Lynch and Deutsche Bank, gave investors the chance to buy two rights shares for every five ordinary share held at 335p, a 44% discount. "The board of National Grid believes the proceeds from the rights issue will allow the group to fund a significant increase in UK capital investment and continue to deliver attractive returns to shareholders, whilst maintaining single A credit ratings for our UK operating companies in a more volatile economic environment," it said in a short statement Monday.The rump, or unwanted stock, has since been found a home. The underwriters managed to find buyers for the remaining 57.79m shares at 500p each.