Storage buyouts save Aussie M&A blushes
A sign of Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC is pictured at their office in Singapore July 13, 2023. REUTERS/Edgar Su/File Photo
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MELBOURNE, Dec 9 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Dealmakers Down Under can head into the Christmas holiday season feeling a bit less downbeat. On Monday, Brookfield Asset Management (BAM.N) and Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC agreed to take Sydney-listed National Storage REIT (NSR.AX) private at an enterprise value of A$6.7 billion ($4.4 billion). Meanwhile, Macquarie Asset Management is in exclusive talks to potentially buy container and logistics firm Qube (QUB.AX) for $7.7 billion. If both acquisitions close, they will ease a stretch of M&A embarrassment.
A number of high-profile transactions involving Australian companies and assets faltered this year, most recently BHP’s second tilt at Anglo American – and it ended swiftly. The proposed deal, built with Lazard and UBS, valued Anglo American at about $53 billion according to Bloomberg. In September, ADNOC’s $19 billion bid for Santos (STO.AX) was abandoned, leaving JPMorgan, Goldman Sachs and Rothschild empty-handed. That move followed Peabody Energy’s decision to walk away from an agreed purchase of Anglo’s Queensland coal mines for up to $3.8 billion.
Until Monday, the largest M&A deal signed in Australia this year stood at $2.5 billion. The field was split between CC Capital’s buyout of Insignia Financial (IFL.AX) and Washington H. Soul Pattinson’s (SOL.AX) acquisition of the remaining 53% stake in Brickworks in a merger-cum-buyout, valuing the combined group at about $9 billion.
Deal activity had already been lean for Australian private equity, with roughly $21 billion in announced and active buyouts for the year, the second-worst showing in five years, based on Dealogic data. The NSR and potential Qube transactions, with advisory support from Macquarie, UBS, Jefferies, Deutsche Bank, Citi and JPMorgan, offer some renewed optimism.
The broader backdrop shows private equity houses like Blackstone and CVC increasing their footprint in Australia, seeking targets as deal flow stabilizes. If NSR and Qube close, they could herald a busier era ahead for M&A in the region.
For more insights like these, Breakingviews offers in-depth analysis and market context. Editing by Una Galani; Production by Ujjaini Dutta.
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Would you like this summary to emphasize the potential strategic rationale for the NSR and Qube deals, or focus more on the historical context of Australian M&A volatility this year? Also, should future rewrites include more data points and citations, or stay narrative-focused with concise figures?
