Good evening,

We’re up and running for the new year and off to a flyer!

CPE Capital and Macquarie’s MIRA have made a joint bid for Australia’s Bingo Industries, valuing the waste management company at more than $2 billion.

The bid is understood to leave room for Bingo’s biggest shareholder – CEO Daniel Tartak and his family, who founded the company – to roll its 20 per cent stake into the bid vehicle.

The friendly approach and the $3-plus bid price netted CPE Capital’s group due diligence. The bidder and target were trying to have a fully funded and binding deal ready on the announcement, similar to Pacific Equity Partners’ strike at Citadel Group mid last year.

That’s not going to happen now, although we believe Bingo and CPE Capital’s relationship is tight enough to be able to find a deal should there be no red flags during the due diligence.

The whole affair is indicative of what could come this year. There are plenty of cashed-up suitors – private equity, companies that raised capital last year, and the like – and many target company boards and share registers willing to consider approaches.

Elsewhere, we have details on Blackstone’s whopper Australian industrial property sale, and unveil a new online retail IPO contender.

Happy reading,

Sarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald and Tim Boyd
Street Talk Editors