Who doesn’t like an M&A Monday. This one surely didn’t disappoint, as coy boards firmed up their intentions.
Kicking off today’s show was South Korean steelmaker Posco with its revised $900 million-odd bid for Senex Energy, with a surprise partner in Gina Rinehart’s Hancock Energy also in the mix.
Sydney Airport confirmed it agreed to a $32 billion offer from IFM and others, while Wesfarmers was firmly in at API with its $763 million offer after Sigma’s reversal.
Tonight we reveal which fund manager is having a go at listing on the ASX.
Qualitas, which invests in real estate, has been sounding out fund managers for a listing in the $700 million range, which it hopes will land before Christmas.
Macquarie Capital is arranging the meetings, and investors are hearing Qualitas has $4.2 billion in funds under management and has grown at 36 per cent a year since inception.
It will be interesting to see the appetite for a funds management business so soon after GQG Partners’ $5.9 billion listing. But with a totally different asset class, Qualitas may still get lots of attention.
Alternative real estate investment house Qualitas is conducting secret investor soundings for a sharemarket float that could value the group at about $700 million and see it list on the ASX before Christmas.