DataRoom AM: BoQ bounty

The bulk of Investec Australia’s assets are set to head north, with Bank of Queensland reportedly wrapping up a deal yesterday. The Sunshine State-based BoQ had to edge out some strong competition to expand its Australian footprint.

Elsewhere, mining giants line up to expand their interests in Guinea, Equity Trustees claims an ANZ Bank subsidiary, Macquarie Group gears up for a mammoth overseas buy and Boart Longyear searches for a willing buyer of a large stake in its flagging business.

Bank of Queensland has claimed the majority of Investec Australia’s assets in a deal that will see it tap shareholders for a rights issue worth over $400 million, according to The Australian Financial Review. The raising, likely to be managed by Goldman Sachs, should offset much of the expected $450m purchase price. BoQ outflanked fellow suitors ANZ Bank and Bendigo and Adelaide Bank to claim the prize.

Also in the finance sector, Equity Trustees has agreed to pay $150m to acquire ANZ Trustees from ANZ Bank. The deal comes just months after it fell short in a bidding war for The Trust Company, which was eventually won by Perpetual. The ASX-listed firm will pursue a $150m capital raising to fund the deal, with $37m coming from institutional investors and the rest via an entitlement offer to retail shareholders.

Macquarie Group is planning to make a bid for the AWAS aircraft leasing business, provided it can find suitable joint venture partners on a deal, the AFR reports. The takeover target, owned by private equity firm Terra Firma, may be worth about $9 billion.

In resources, highly sought after iron ore tenements in Guinea are reportedly being chased by BHP Billiton, Rio Tinto and Fortescue Metals as Israel’s BSG Resources and Brazil’s Vale prepare to see their rights to Simandou tenements stripped by the government. The tenements were originally in the hands of Rio -- which is developing a major project to their south -- and it would appear the most likely suitor.

Meanwhile, mining services firm Boart Longyear has called on Goldman Sachs to request expressions of interest for a significant shareholding in the business, the AFR reports. Boart has encountered a challenging 12 months and is desperate to right its financial ship ahead of the presentation of a debt repayment plan to lenders at the end of September.

Hochtief’s $1.25bn bid to claim greater control of Leighton Holdings has received the green light from independent expert KPMG. The deal, announced in March, will see the German construction giant’s shareholding shift up from 58.77 per cent to 73.82 per cent. Minority investors have until May 9 to accept the offer.

Elsewhere, Simplot Australia is rumoured to be the frontrunner to buy dips maker Black Swan, which went on the market earlier this year. Expressions of interest closed last week, with Simplot tipped to outlast fellow interested parties including Parmalat, Fonterra and Murray Goulburn with a bid of about $50m.

The nation’s single biggest grain farmer, Ron Greentree, has put his Boolcarrol-Milton Downs properties up for auction. The assets are believed to be worth $200m and agriculture investors in Asia would be the best bet to gobble them up.

Finally, Bain Capital’s debt arm, Sankaty Advisers, has secured control of JPMorgan’s Global Special Opportunities Group, beating off rival bids from KKR, Goldman Sachs, Pacific Alliance Group and Davidson Kempner, according to the AFR. The deal may be worth as much as $1bn.