Good evening,

IFM Investors and Global Infrastructure Partners have got their $32 billion deal.

Project Platinum, as they called it, landed at the weekend when the duo and their consortium partners dished up a binding and fully-formed $8.75-a-security offer for Sydney Airport.

Sydney Airport’s board, true to its word in September, signed the deal and is expected to tell investors to do likewise tomorrow.

It’ll be a landmark day for many reasons. Sydney Airport, at $32.2 billion or so including debt, is the biggest ever cash bid for an Australian company. It’ll also underscore a huge year for private capital investors taking publicly listed Australian companies.

Sydney Airport investors are expected to be asked to vote on the deal in the March quarter. Meanwhile, the buyers will need to gain regulatory approval to make the acquisition.

Elsewhere, we’ve spotted Goldman Sachs testing buyer appetite in meals company Lite n’ Easy, while there’ll be eyes on Stanmore Resources tomorrow after it was reported to be reading a $1.5 billion-odd deal to acquire BHP’s Australian met coal assets.

Happy reading,

Anthony Macdonald, Yolanda Redrup and Kanika Sood

Street Talk editors