date:Oct 22, 2013
Woolworths may borrow cheap Asian debt or raise equity to fund a $US3 billion acquisition of grocery chain ParknShop if it proceeds with plans to expand offshore for the first time since 2005.
Investors and bankers said that by tapping Asian rather than domestic or US debt markets Woolworths could afford to offer more for Hong Kong's second largest grocery chain outbidding Japan's Aeon and Thailand's Charoen Pokphand Group. Borrowing in local currency would create a natural hedge, reducing