DataRoom AM: Treasury taste test

Confidence is swelling that a takeover deal will be reached at Treasury Wine Estates, with a decision on a preferred bidder expected soon. It leaves the one big question of price.

Elsewhere, National Australia Bank is hopeful of a $US2 billion ($2.2bn) payday for its divestment of Great Western Bank, bankers salivate over the prospect of a big block trade at Woodside Petroleum and another IPO candidate emerges ahead of a busy listing period.

Treasury Wine Estates boss Mike Clarke has met with as many as 60 banking executives in Los Angeles in relation to TPG Capital’s conditional $3.4bn takeover bid, according to The Australian Financial Review. The talks are believed one of the final steps ahead of Treasury likely making a decision to enter exclusive talks with either TPG or initial suitor KKR. It is believed that a change of control is now inevitable, with the price and preferred bidder the unanswered questions.

The news comes amid a three-week slump in TWE’s stock price that has seen it drift almost 10 per cent below the provisional offers from KKR and TPG.

Meanwhile, National Australia Bank is set to price its IPO of Great Western Bank in October following an investor roadshow to drum up interest in its US subsidiary. NAB will only sell 30 per cent of the $US1.5bn-$US2bn business through the float due to US listing rules.

The Australian banking giant is required to retain a 70 per cent stake for the first 180 days post-listing but will reportedly look to get out soon after, with a full exit possible within 12 months.

NAB could also soon be moving away from the UK after receiving good news in the form of the ‘No’ vote on Scottish independence. The news removes one question mark hanging over its UK operations and potentially paves the way for a divestment within the next 12 months.

Royal Dutch Shell’s 13.6 per cent stake in Woodside Petroleum could be up for grabs shortly as the escrow period relating to the failed buyback deal comes to an end. The $5bn position has investment bankers in a frenzy, according to the AFR, with four different banks believed to be testing investor appetite as they seek to win a mandate from Shell to sell the shareholding. Such a deal could secure about $10m for the bank that runs it.

In the IPO market, an investor roadshow for IPO hopeful Huon Aquaculture is due to begin this week, with the AFR reporting the listing could be worth as much $400m. It’s a similar story at Hoyts Group, with a pre-marketing roadshow on its $700m float also set to get underway this week.

Meanwhile, LatAm Autos, an auto classifieds business focused on the South American market, is poised to join the queue of IPO candidates, with the AFR detailing plans for a $40m pre-IPO capital raising. It’s not yet clear what value will be ascribed to the fast-growing company. The news comes as Urbanise.com prepares to hit ASX boards today.

In energy, WA-based explorer Buru Energy has agreed to offload 8.9 per cent of its business to Coogee Chemicals, the AFR reports. The deal forms part of a $40m capital raising to be announced prior to open today.

Elsewhere, Macquarie Group has teamed up with Spain’s Ferrovial on the $1.8bn purchase of the Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton airports. The seller was Heathrow Airport Holdings.

Finally, private equity firm Archer Capital is chasing an Asian-based joint venture partner for its $250 million WA-based Brownes Dairy business, while HK billionaire Tony Fung’s bid for the Reef Hotel Casino in Cairns has been cleared by the Foreign Investment Review Board.