DUET IPO a step closer

AMP Capital Investors and Macquarie Bank today announced that the issuers of the stapled units in the Diversified Utility and Energy Trusts (DUET)^[1] had lodged the Product Disclosure Statement for the initial public offering of DUET (IPO) with the Australian Securities and Investments Commission.

This follows the announcement of 17 June 2004 regarding the completion of the joint venture agreement for the ongoing management of DUET, and the announcement of 23 June 2004 regarding the appointment of the DUET boards and management team.

The Chief Executive Officer of DUET, Peter Barry, said that the initial public offer of stapled units in DUET represents an attractive yield investment opportunity for both retail and institutional investors.

“DUET is the first pure-play energy utility vehicle in Australia, with an existing diversified portfolio of gas and electricity distribution assets that have a track record of predictable earnings and cash flows,” Mr Barry said.

“DUET’s diversification reduces its exposure to any single asset, market or regulatory regime and underpins its ability to deliver a stable and predictable yield to unitholders.

“Given the investment opportunities in the sector, coupled with the strength of the management team and boards of DUET and the financial resources of the joint-venture partners, AMP Capital and Macquarie Bank, we are very confident that we can leverage our existing assets and industry relationships to further grow and diversify our portfolio and maximise returns to investors.”

DUET’s objective is to invest in energy utility assets, primarily in Australia and New Zealand and potentially other OECD countries, with strong competitive positions which offer predictable cashflows. DUET’s existing portfolio of assets comprises:

The offer is expected to result in the issue of 111 million stapled units of DUET to institutions and members of the general public to raise approximately $249 million (the “Offer”). The Offer is part of the broader IPO which also includes an opportunity for POWERS^[2] holders to request an exchange of their POWERS for stapled units in DUET (the POWERS exchange process starts today (28 June 2004) and ends on 12 July 2004, before the start of the institutional bookbuild).

The Offer will enable a “selldown” of stapled units of current investors in DUET, including AMP Life and Macquarie, and will result in a small amount of new capital. AMP Life and Macquarie intend to retain cornerstone holdings of at least $30 million each until at least 30 June 2005 provided that the issuers remain jointly owned by the AMP Capital group and the Macquarie Bank group. AMP Life has indicated it intends to retain additional stapled units in DUET in excess of the cornerstone holding, in the medium term following the IPO.

The Lead Manager of the Offer is Macquarie Equity Capital Markets. Retail co-managers are ABN Amro, Ord Minnett and Grange Securities.

The issuers of the DUET stapled units are AMPCI Macquarie Infrastructure Management No 1 Limited (ABN 99 108 103 672) (AFSL 269286) and AMPCI Macquarie Infrastructure No 2 Limited(ABN 15 108 014 062) (AFSL 269287).

The DUET Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) is able to be obtained from the lead manager’s office in your state. The lead manager is Macquarie Equity Capital Markets Limited. The PDS is also able to be viewed online by eligible investors at www.macquarie.com.au/duet and www.ampcapital.com.au/duet . Investors should consider the PDS in deciding whether to acquire the DUET stapled units once they become available for issue. Applications for stapled units in the retail offer may only be made after it opens, which is expected to be on Monday 19 July 2004.

[1] The issuers of the DUET stapled units are AMPCI Macquarie Infrastructure Management No 1 Limited (ABN 99 108 103 672) (AFSL 269286) as responsible entity for DUET1 and AMPCI Macquarie Infrastructure Management No 2 Limited (ABN 15 108 014 062) (AFSL 269287) as responsible entity for DUET2. The issuers are jointly owned by AMP Capital Holdings Limited (the parent of AMP Capital Investors Limited) and Macquarie Bank Limited.

[2] POWERS are preferred, cumulative, exchangeable, redeemable reset units in the POWERS Trust issued by AMP Capital Investors Limited (ABN 54001777591) (AFSL 234597) as the POWERS responsible entity. POWERS are quoted on ASX.

For further information please contact:

DUET IPO: Justin Kirkwood, Mob: 0411 251 324/ Nigel Kassulke, Mob: 0407 904 874

MBL: Suzanne Mercer, Ph: (02) 8232 8525, Mob: 0413 946 706

AMPCI: Jillian Maxwell, Ph: (02) 9257 2766, Mob: 0411 886 859

General Advice Disclaimer

The information in this notice is general information only and does not take into account your individual objectives, financial situation or needs. Consequently, you should consider whether the information in this notice is appropriate for you in light of your objectives, financial situation and needs. To obtain advice or more information about the products offered in this notice you should speak to an Australian financial services licensee or an authorised representative.

About DUET

DUET is an energy utility vehicle which comprises two stapled managed investment schemes, including:

Diversified Utility and Energy Trust No 1 (DUET1) (ARSN 109 363 037)
Diversified Utility and Energy Trust No 2 (DUET2) (ARSN 109 363 135)

DUET has two boards – the board of DUET1 and board of DUET2 each consist of five Directors, being three independent Directors and one representative of each of AMP Capital and Macquarie Bank.

The DUET responsible entities are AMPCI Macquarie Infrastructure Management No 1 Limited (ABN 99 108 103 672) (AFSL 269286) and AMPCI Macquarie Infrastructure No 2 Limited(ABN 15 108 014 062) (AFSL 269287). The responsible entities have day to day responsibility for the operation and management of DUET, they are jointly owned by AMP Capital and Macquarie Bank.