An investor group led by Canadian asset manager Brookfield Asset Management has finally agreed to buy Asciano (AIO) in a deal valued at $A12 billion, in the seventh largest buyout of an Australian firm by an overseas entity.
Asciano shareholders will receive $A6.94 in cash and 0.0387 Brookfield Infrastructure Ltd partnership units for every share held, Brookfield said on Monday night in the US.
New York and Toronto-listed Brookfield Infrastructure Partners will apply for an ASX-listing as part of the offer.
The offer has an implied value of $A9.15, a 13% premium to Asciano’s last traded price. Asciano requested a trading halt yesterday ahead of an announcement overnight. Asciano also reports its 2014-15 annual results this morning.
The offer is also higher than Brookfield’s previous bid, which had an implied value of $A9.05 per share.
Asciano’s deal follows one involving its former parent company, Toll Holdings, which agreed to a $A6.5 billion takeover by Japan Post Holdings earlier this year.
Asciano has a network of port and rail assets in Australia, including container terminal operations in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. The company also offers rail freight services through its Pacific National unit. It also carries coal on the East Coast.
“Combining Asciano’s Australian container terminals with our existing assets in North America and Europe provides the foundation for a global container platform,” said Brookfield Infrastructure Chief Executive Sam Pollock said in a statement issued overnight in the US.
The deal will also create a "powerful" international rail logistics business, he said.
Brookfield Infrastructure’s assets in Australia include the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal in Queensland and a freight rail network.
Brookfield Infrastructure will get a 55% stake in Melbourne-based Asciano for a $US2.8 billion investment.
Other Brookfield-led private funds will hold about 23% and two institutional partners will each hold about 11%.
Brookfield Infrastructure said it also plans a private placement of units to Brookfield Asset Management to raise $US250 million.
Following completion of the transaction, including the private placement, Brookfield Asset Management will own about 27% of Brookfield Infrastructure’s units on a fully diluted basis.
