South Australia-based gas distributor Envestra to raise $125 million for capex, cutting interim debt SOUTH Australia-based gas distributor Envestra wants to $125 million from new domestic and offshore investors and existing shareholders to fund its capital expenditure and cut debt. Envestra, which delivers gas to about 1.2 million customers Australia wide, has launched a $100 million placement and a $25 million share purchase plan at an offer price of 99c per share - an 8 per cent discount to its last closing price. It plans to spend close to $1.3 billion over the next five years across its key networks, most of it on replacement of its old cast iron and gas mains. "Around $630 million is expected to be spent on the refurbishment of these mains," the company said. The remaining capex will primarily be spend on network extensions, capacity enhancement, meter replacement and customer connections. Envestra said in the interim, new funds may be used to temporarily reduce debt. Majority shareholder APA Group has committed to $33.9 million in the placement, which will settle on April 15. The fundraising follows a decision by the Australian Energy Regulator on Envestra's network access agreements until 2017 related to its Victorian and Albury gas networks, which contributes to 40 per cent of its revenues. The AER has set tariffs such that Envestra is expected to earn revenues of around $0.95 billion over the five years from the Victorian network following an extensive capital expenditure that involves construction milestones and includes connecting 70,000 new customers to the network.