CANBERRA: Brookfield Infrastructure and its partners will acquire Australian transportation company Asciano Ltd in a friendly cash-and-stock deal worth $11.6 billion. Asciano operates container terminals in several Australian port cities along with a national rail freight network consisting of more than 14,000 railcars.
“This transaction enables us to acquire premier transport infrastructure assets in a geography we know well and establish two leading global platforms, with solid long-term prospects,” said Sam Pollock, CEO of Brookfield Infrastructure, in a statement.
“Combining Asciano’s Australian container terminals with our existing assets in North America and Europe provides the foundation for a global container platform.”
Brookfield and its partners are offering existing Asciano shareholders the equivalent of $8.85 Cdn per share, with about three-quarters of that in cash and Brookfield Infrastructure Partnership units for the remainder.
The offer, which requires the approval of Australian authorities and Asciano shareholders, represents a 13 per cent premium to Asciano’s last trading price. The purchase of Asciano is the seventh biggest acquisition of an Australian firm by a foreign buyer, according to Reuters.
Brookfield Infrastructure Partners is an affiliate of Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management, which manages more than $200 billion worth of investments around the world. It operates in nine cities in Australia, with a focus on commercial real estate, construction and infrastructure assets.
