The consortium believed to be the winning bidder for Australia's Loy Yang A power station has minimised the U.S. dollar-component of the A$4.75 billion deal to about US$500 million, a corporate source said on Tuesday.
"There's no massive splash from a foreign exchange point of view," the source, who is close to the bidding, told Reuters.
The consortium said to have won the bidding comprises U.S. utilities CMS Energy Corp, with about 50 percent, and NRG Energy Inc and Horizon Energy Investments Ltd, each with about 25 percent.  
Local currency dealers said they thought about A$400 million to A$500 million cover had been taken on Monday ahead of the deal's announcement, which is likely at about midday.
Horizon is a vehicle for Australian institutions led by Macquarie Bank's Infrastructure Trust of Australia Group Ltd.
The consortium's capital structure is designed around a high gearing ratio of around 75 percent, with bank debt, indexed bonds and subordinated debt accounting for almost A$3.6 billion of the A$4.75 billion bid, sources said.  
All of the debt and a quarter of the equity component will be raised in Australia, leaving the balance of the equity to be funded offshore, the Melbourne source said.
"There's no big tranche of offshore dollars greater than what was done in the past for Yallorn and Hazelwood," he said.
The Victoria state government's earlier sale of its Yallorn and Hazelwood power stations involved around US$500 million in foreign equity, the source said.
The Loy Yang A consoritum's foreign exposure was already covered, he added.  
"We have mitigated already but, given the capital structure of the deal, there is a negligible impact from a foreign exchange point of view," the source said.
-- Melbourne bureau 613-9286-1421
