(Bloomberg) — Macquarie Asset Management offered to buy Qube Holdings Ltd. in a A$11.6 billion ($7.5 billion) deal, seeking to add the Australian ports and rail company to a stable of infrastructure investments worldwide.
Qube investors would receive A$5.20 cash per share — 28% more than Friday’s close, the company said Monday. Macquarie Asset Management has been granted exclusive due diligence until Feb. 1, and Qube said its board would recommend investors accept a firm offer at that price.
Qube offers Macquarie a transport and trade network handling a vast array of goods and services, including outbound grain and cottonseed shipments, bulk car imports from Asia, and rail cargo distribution around Australia. Macquarie Asset Management, a unit of Macquarie Group Ltd., oversees almost A$960 billion of assets across public and private markets, with portfolio companies ranging from container terminals in New York and New Jersey to South Korean toll roads.
The company’s shares jumped 19% to A$4.86 in Sydney trading, short of the offer price. The gap between Qube’s stock price Monday and the offer reflects the numerous conditions tied to the deal and the lengthy timeframe before completion. Macquarie Asset Management’s months-long due diligence window also means that financial or geopolitical developments could cloud the outlook. It may then be several months more before any deal is completed and shareholders get paid.
Macquarie Asset Management must produce a binding bid of at least A$5.20 after going through Qube’s books in order to unanimously win over Qube’s directors. After that, approvals may be required from Australia’s Foreign Investment Review Board and the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, according to the statement.
Qube’s operations span container leasing, car and grain cargo terminals, and road and rail transport services. The company’s shares have soared from a low of A$1.79 in March 2020.
It’s not the first time Macquarie Asset Management has studied Qube’s accounts. According to Qube, the latest bid follows an earlier, undisclosed proposal from the firm and a period of negotiation and limited due diligence. Qube didn’t specify the value of the previous offer or when it was made, and said there’s still no guarantee of a binding offer.
“We look forward to continuing to engage constructively,” Qube Chairman John Bevan said in the statement.
UBS Group AG is advising Qube.
