EastLink auction speeds past ACCC pit stop; data room set to open
The owners of a 55.45 per cent stake in Melbourne toll road EastLink are ready to launch the mooted auction,after the auction’s big gorilla, Transurban, was handed a speeding ticket by the competition regulator on its ability to bid.
Owners of EastLink (pictured) will collect first-round bids in late November.
Street Talk understands prospective bidders were asked to sign non-disclosure agreements last week, ahead of the auction officially kicking off after nearly 10 months of preparations.
They were offered the toll road’s traffic data upon signing, with access to detailed vendor due diligence to follow when the data room opens on October 16. Sell-side adviser RBC Capital Markets is expected to call for non-binding indicative bids in late November.
An early look at the numbers for the last financial year put EastLink’s EBITDA at just over $300 million and debt at $2.5 billion on a 100 per cent basis, sources said.
Transurban is lying low for now following public concerns from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission on September 21. The regulator took the view that allowing the ASX-listed toll roads giant to own a stake in EastLink would “substantially lessen” competition for concessions in Victoria. It was the first time that Transurban – which has relied on M&A to expand its holdings to 11 Australian toll roads – faced push back from the competition regulator on acquiring a local road.
It responded with a statement saying the ACCC decision was an informal merger clearance and “not a conclusive finding of law”.
It is understood Transurban hasn’t decided if it would appeal ACCC’s decision. Sources said while it could, technically speaking, still lob an indicative bid at EastLink come November, it was
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