Sept. 6 (Bloomberg) -- Elders Ltd., owner of the world’s largest wool broker, said talks this week about a proposed equity offer were like a “near-death experience.”

The Adelaide, Australia-based company said on Sept. 4 it will raise as much as A$550 million ($463 million) to pay debt and strengthen its balance sheet after posting a full-year loss of A$415.4 million.

“A couple of times during the week we thought we were having what can best be described as a near-death experience,” Chief Executive Officer Malcolm Jackman said today on Australian Broadcasting Corp. television. “At the end of the day, the company, the banks, everybody, gave a little bit and we were able to find the right compromise and the right mix to get the equity raising away.”

Elders will sell new shares at 15 Australian cents a piece, it said on Sept. 4. The stock, which was halted ahead of the announcement, last traded at 39 cents on Aug. 28 on the Australian stock exchange.

Net debt will be less than A$200 million once the equity raising is completed at the end of October, Jackman said.

Jackman took the top job a year ago and changed the company’s name from Futuris Corp. to Elders as he focuses on the its rural services unit. He’s been clearing the company’s books of businesses as varied as cattle ranching, aquaculture and telecommunications to cut debt.

‘Rural Focus’

“The real focus of the company now is around the rural services, the Elders of old, the Elders that has been around for 170 years,” he said. “You will see the business return to reasonably good profitability in full-year 2010, and then I think you’ll see it grow quite substantially beyond that.”

Elders’ rural unit sells fertilizer, livestock and merchandise to farmers at more than 380 outlets in Australia and New Zealand. It also trades wool, dairy cattle and grain.

A merger with rival rural services company AWB Ltd.’s Landmark unit is unlikely in the near future, he said today.

“I think politically it’s unlikely to carry a lot of favor in the bush,” he said. “I actually think a duopoly, having two strong players in that space, is probably a better outcome for rural Australians.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Madelene Pearson in Melbourne on mpearson1@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: September 5, 2009 22:55 EDT