WPL comes back on-line today after yesterday's big news that Shell was selling out of the majority of its stake

WPL comes back on-line today after yesterday's big news that Shell was selling out of the majority of its stake. The removal of the overhang will be welcomed by the market, who will also like the controlled manor by which the sell-down takes place. There had been some concerns that if WPL were to buy-back Shell's stake they may have to over gear or even sell certain assets to achieve this, so the fact they are using cash and existing debt facilities, while maintain its 80% payout ratio is a win for shareholders. What's more the buyback increases return on equity and is 6% EPS accretive. The buy-back still needs 75% shareholder support, which should get over the line, although there will be some objection to Shells access to WPL's franking credits. (VIEW LINK)