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Australia: Port sale gains final clearance

By  |  July 28, 2016

The $6.8-billion buyout of Australian port and rail freight giant Asciano Ltd by global investors was approved by a court on Thursday, clearing the final hurdle for the Australia’s largest foreign takeover in five years.

Asciano announced on Thursday that the Supreme Court of New South Wales state had cleared the deal and that its shares will stop trading on July 29. Shareholders will receive payments on Aug. 19.

After rival bids and regulatory concerns held up the deal that originally was scheduled for completion by the end of 2015, the buyout was only cleared by Australia’s antitrust regulator and the country’s Foreign Investments Review Board this month.

The takeover involves selling Asciano’s port assets in a split between Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management Inc and Australia’s Qube Holdings Ltd, while a consortium will take its rail assets.

Full Content: The Globe and Mail

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