Downer’s Repurpose It locks in prefer red bidder | Childcare biz Nido pitches growt h ambitions | ARN Media raids radio rival Sou thern Cross

Good evening,

Downer’s auction for its waste management business Repurpose It is finally coming together!

It was touch and go for sell-side adviser Barrenjoey, with pricing expectations buffeted by the higher costs of debt and the Victorian government pausing big infrastructure projects. But Street Talk understands I Squared Capital has emerged as the preferred bidder.

The Florida-headquartered private equity investor threw down a bid of around $250 million, leapfrogging rival suitors (and joint bidders) Intermediate Capital Partners and Palisade Impact late last week.

Elsewhere, childcare business Nido is understood to have met with more than 50 fundies as it pursues an ASX listing. Investors who took the meetings reckon the company is primed for a July IPO bookbuild and a $260 million odd market cap.

In some after-market excitement, alarm bells were ringing at Southern Cross Media on Monday night. Rival station network operator ARN Media was spotted in a 4:30pm raid, picking up 14.8 per cent of the register before the clock struck 6:30pm.

Finally, Street Talk understands a legal dispute at Taylor Collison has drawn in a top Adelaide litigator, and Ashurst has named Neil Pathak as its new head of M&A.

Happy reading,
Sarah Thompson, Kanika Sood and Emma Rapaport
Street Talk editors