Good evening,

Uniti Group again stole the M&A headlines on Thursday – first confirming that Macquarie and PSP had lobbed a $3.5 billion bid, and then revealing that Brookfield had joined Morrison in the data room.

Although there’s plenty to play out, Macquarie’s entry is arguably the most material development.

It’s hard to think of an Australian telecommunications infrastructure auction that Macquarie has lost in recent years – and cheap capital from PSP only makes it harder to beat.

In Street Talk tonight, we’ve spotted Reece thinking about a US acquisition, and get the goss on Waste Management NZ’s $2 billion-odd auction, which has been keeping plenty of Australian dealmakers busy.

And finally, there’s shocking news that Rothschild local head of M&A, Chris Forman, passed away this week.

Forman was one of the country’s top oil and gas sector dealmakers, proving it last year when he advised Oil Search on its takeover by Santos, Woodside Petroleum on its partial sale of Pluto Train 2, and Senex Energy on its acquisition by Posco and Hancock Energy.

Happy reading,

Anthony Macdonald, Sarah Thompson and Kanika Sood
Street Talk Editors