insto - Australian financial markets

Bank of Queensland has acquired equipment financiers CIT Group Australia and CIT Group NZ for a total consideration of $475 million. BOQ says it plans to operate CIT as a standalone entity, but will rebrand it as BOQ over time. BOQ managing director David Liddy said CIT was “a true bolt on acquisition, in line with our strategy of expanding in to higher margin businesses.” BOQ also finalized the $45 million acquisition of former HBOS businesses St Andrews Insurance and St Andrews Life, both of them based in Perth.

Macquarie Group has taken a controlling stake in Sydney-based property funds management and research group Rismark International. Macquarie has declined to reveal the price paid for 53 percent of Rismark, purchased through Macquarie Funds Group. Macquarie executive director Rowan Ross has been appointed chairman of Rismark.

Vodafone Hutchison Australia (VHA) last week announced the biggest syndicated loan deal of 2010 so far, a $3 billion re-financing through a syndicate of 12 domestic and international banks. Participating banks were ANZ, BNP, CBA, NAB, Westpac, Banco Santander, Bank of Scotland International, BBVA, HSBC, ING, Intesa Sanpaolo and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. The refinancing will replace loans from VHA’s shareholders and is the company’s first external financing since Vodafone and Hutchison merged in June 2009. 

The market is awaiting next moves in the battle for AXA this week, with AMP – seemingly the last man standing – now in the box seat to re-pitch its offer for the company.

Last week, NAB’s bid to become the biggest player in Australian superannuation and wealth management has been stymied by competition watchdog the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, which blocked its $14 billion bid for AXA Asia Pacific.

PE Alert – 11 March 2010 from Mergermarket

NEW SITUATIONS

Unitas is selling Repco; reported on 07/03/2010
Private equity fund Unitas Capital has put its portfolio company Repco Perth, the Australian independent brake specialist, on the market. An information brief will be provided to approved applicants on execution of a confidentiality agreement. Management Advisors is advising on the sale.

The team of analysts at mergermarket track private equity news and moves across the Australian market. What follows is a summary of the most significant new PE moves, along with updates on deals that have already been reported.

New situations

• Brambles’s Recall could be attractive to PE: Recall, the AUD 2bn records management business owned by Brambles, could become a target for private equity funds Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts and Iron Mountain as potential suitors for Recall.

Markets reacted positively to the news that the first sovereign default on sukuk bonds, will be avoided by a US$10bn (A$11bn) loan by United Arab Emirates’ central bank to Dubai. This comes just in time as Nakheel, the real estate arm of the state-backed conglomerate, Dubai World, was due to pay about US$4bn under an islamic bond contract from today.

At the close, the Dow Jones was up 30 points to 10501, while the Nasdaq declined half a point to 2212 and S&P 500 added 4 points to stand at 1114.

Bonds decline
US short dated treasuries fell on Monday (yields higher), as investors switched from safe-haven bond into equities following the Abu Dhabi bailout, CBA noted this morning that. US 10yr yields remained steady at 3.55 per cent with US 2yr yields up 4pts to 0.84 per cent.

The team of analysts at mergermarket track private equity news and moves across the Australian market. What follows is a summary of the most significant new PE moves, along with updates on deals that have already been reported.

New situations

• Warrnambool receives approach: CHAMP Private Equity is believed to be behind the offer for Warrnambool Cheese and Butter, the Australian-listed dairy group. But it is not the only party rumoured to be a suitor. Others are Murray Goulburn, Parmalat, and Fonterra.

The team of analysts at mergermarket track private equity news and moves across the Australian market. What follows is a summary of the most significant new PE moves, along with updates on deals that have already been reported.

New situations

• Port of Brisbane could be sold in 2010: The timetable for the sale by the Queensland government of its assets could be quicker than expected and this could lead to expressions of interest for the Port of Brisbane Corp being made by April. This in turn could lead to a sale could happen six months earlier than scheduled. PE players such as Global Infrastructure Partners, TPG and Carlyle could potentially join with a property group such as Mirvac or Stockland.
   
• Seven Media could be listed by owners: Seven Media, a joint venture between Seven Network and the private equity group Kohlberg Kravis Roberts could be listed in the near future. However, a major impediment to a listing are subordinated equity notes within Seven, valued at AUD 1.075bn. These notes are held in the same proportion to the group’s current shareholder structure and would have to be converted to equity before an IPO.
   
• Mitre 10 sees interest from PE fund: Anchorage Capital Partners is believed to have entered the fray for Mitre 10, the Australian-based hardware group. However Metcash which made the initial offer for Mitre 10 is understood to have built a strong case for the acquisition. There are expectations that more bidders could enter the bidding contest.
   
• PEP could IPO REDGroup in 2010: REDGroup Retail, the Australian bookseller backed by Pacific Equity Partners, is mulling an Australian stock listing in early 2010.

The team of analysts at mergermarket track private equity news and moves across the Australian market. What follows is a summary of the most significant new PE moves, along with updates on deals that have already been reported.

New situations

• Rio Tinto trying to sell Alcan Engineered Products: Rio Tinto is believed to be in exclusive talks with private-equity house Apollo for the sale of its Alcan Engineered Products division. A report cited persons familiar with the matter as saying that the exclusivity agreement was signed a few weeks ago. The reports cite a labour union member confirming that Rio Tinto was in exclusive talks with a potential buyer.