EastLink auction gears for kick-off despite Transurban’s ACCC pothole
It’s pedal to the metal for deal teams waiting on the auction for Melbourne toll-road operator EastLink, with a July kick-off still on the calendar after the most likely buyer, Transurban, was warned that the competition regulator had concerns about it acquiring another motorway.
Transurban boss Scott Charlton would be hoping to get his hands on the majority stake in EastLink before his retirement by end of 2023. Eamon Gallagher
Sources said sell-side adviser RBC Capital Markets was on track to start the sale process in July. However, there was a possibility that the timeline for sending out the information memorandum and more detailed due diligence could slip out and into August.
And there’s a new date circled on everyone’s calendar: September 7. That’s the deadline that the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has given itself to hand down a final verdict on whether Transurban can bid at all.
A 20-page-long statement of issues published by ACCC on Thursday served up a mixed bag on Transurban’s fate in the auction.
On one hand, the document raised questions about Transurban’s incumbency advantage, potential to reduce competition in building, running or owning toll roads in Victoria, and the possibility of dampening rival bidders in future auctions.
On the other, the competition regulator said toll caps, and the supply of tolling systems to operators and motorists, were unlikely to be affected should Transurban successfully add Eastlink to its empire.
Sources said there was nothing unusual in Transurban moving into the second round for ACCC approval; it knows the regulatory rigmarole well, having navigated it successfully in its$10 billion consortium bid for WestConnex in 2021.
While Transurban gets its ducks
Read more on afr.com
