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Australia: Court favors Macquarie in GIB sale

By  |  April 9, 2017

Macquarie Group looks set to acquire Britain’s Green Investment Bank (GIB) after a court rejected the claim of a rival bidder on Friday.

The government decided to sell a majority stake in 2015, saying it would give the bank greater freedom to borrow, removing state aid restrictions, and allow it to attract more capital.

In September last year, it selected a Macquarie-led group as the preferred bidder, but competing bidder Sustainable Development Capital (SDCL) went to court, arguing the consortium hadn’t met criteria set out to guide ministers in their decision.

In a statement on Friday, SDCL announced it had lost its judicial review in the High Court.

According to the High Court judgement, the British government viewed the bid by the Macquarie consortium, which also includes Universities Superannuation Scheme, as “financially preferable” over the SDCL-led bid for several reasons.

SDCL’s funding position was “less secure” because it reduced its offer to buy 100 per cent of the bank to 75 per cent, after one of the members of its consortium pulled out in August.

Full Content: The Sidney Morning Herald

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