CANBERRA: Australia’s Asciano Ltd (AIO.AX) on Tuesday agreed to a A$9.1 billion ($6.8 billion) buyout by two global consortia after a seven-month bidding war for the port and rail giant, although doubts persist over anti-trust and foreign ownership issues.
In its third takeover endorsement in nine months, Australia’s largest ports and rail operator said it now supported a joint bid from local rival Qube Holdings Ltd (QUB.AX), Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management Inc (BAMa.TO) and a host of backers from China to Qatar.
The deal would cement Sydney-based Qube’s position as Australia’s biggest stand-alone ports company. Beijing’s sovereign wealth fund, China Investment Corp (CIC) [CIC.UL], would get Asciano’s railways business along with the Canadian Pension Plan Investment Board and U.S. investor Global Infrastructure Partners.
For China, the transaction fits with Beijing’s efforts to amass freight transport lines from Asia to Europe to secure global supply chains as its economy sputters at its slowest growth rate in 25 years.
Even so, the deal still needs clearance from regulators in Australia, New Zealand and Europe, including Australia’s competition watchdog and its Foreign Investment Review Board, which will check that Chinese ownership of rail assets is in the national interest.
