Babcock & Brown Power out of trading halt.

Reuters

Babcock & Brown Power said it may sell assets to raise $275 million, as worries over a funding shortfall sent its shares down over 20 per cent for the second day running.

The group needs to raise cash to help pay for $3.4 billion worth of projects, but has found that increasingly difficult since the global credit crunch sent funding costs sharply higher.

On Friday, BBP confirmed a report by Reuters Basis Point that it had cut the refinanced loan it was seeking to $2.7 billion from $3.1 billion to help secure an investment grade credit rating. It expected to secure the funding in June.

It also said it would seek a corporate loan to cover the remaining $360 million at a higher rate of interest, which parent Babcock & Brown said it would support if banks did not come through.

A flurry of announcements from BBP on Thursday left investors confused on the funding position and triggered a 21 per cent slide.

"We probably gave ourselves more of an upper cut than a helping hand," chief executive Paul Simshauser told analysts and reporters on a teleconference. "I apologise for the tremendous uncertainty that was put in the market place."

Babcock & Brown Power shares closed down 21 per cent at $1.18 on Friday, in a broader market that was down one per cent.

BBP stock had already dived 42 per cent since late August to Wednesday's close on uncertainty over the refinancing of $3.1 billion in debt, taken on after it bought assets from former energy group Alinta.

The group said it was looking at a range of options, including taking on new debt or issuing new equity, to help raise the extra $275 million, but selling down stakes in some assets had been the main focus so far, Mr Simshauser said.

The group expects to secure the funding by August and has already fielded inquiries from potential buyers of some assets, which include interests in 14 power stations and a gas and electricity retail business in Western Australia.

Following the group's share price slide in the past two days, Mr Simshauser said it would now be too costly to raise capital through a sale of new shares.

He ruled out an equity raising below $1.14 a share, which is where the shares had fallen to on Friday when investors feared that a deeply discounted equity raising might be on the cards.

The group said it had no plans to cut its dividend this year, a key factor for retail investors, adding that this year's dividend would not be affected by the debt refinancing.

Analysts on the teleconference questioned why the group's funding plans had changed since December, along with an apparent shift in strategy.

"The street's obviously got a bit of a trust issue with management on this," said one analyst on the call.

BBP executives said the credit crunch had forced it to look at selling down stakes in some assets or selling non-core assets, moving away from its previous focus on buying power generation assets to take advantage of surging electricity prices.

The additional $275 million it is looking to raise is to help fund the construction of its 380 MW Tamar Valley power plant.

Green said Babcock & Brown would support the power fund as necessary.