Five on Aussie pipeline shortlist

SYDNEY: Five bidders have been shortlisted for a A$500mil gas pipeline in Australia's Queensland state as part of a A$1bil-plus sell-off of power assets owned by the government, sources said.
Perth-based energy retailer and distributor Alinta Ltd (the biggest natural gas pipeline investor Down Under), the Australian Pipeline Trust and Australia's biggest natural gas distributor Envestra Ltd had made the shortlist, banking and industry sources said.
Tokyo Gas, a long-term buyer of Australian gas, and newly listed power industry investment vehicle Spark Infrastructure Group Fund together with Hong Kong's CKI Holdings, were also among the five, they said.
Investment bank Rothschild is advising the Queensland government on the sale of the 2,400km long gas distribution network called Allgas. Final bids are due at the end of this month.
“I have heard of bids as high as A$500mil – to get that you would need to be factoring in some pretty heavy growth,” a source said.
According to sale documents posted on the government's website, Queensland's gas consumption is growing at 4.3% a year, outpacing the national average of 3.8%.
Macquarie Bank Ltd was advising Alinta on the deal, while ABN Amro was the adviser for the Australian Pipeline Trust and Envestra had engaged Goldman Sachs JB Were, sources said.
Rothschild is also advising the government on the sale of energy retail assets called Sun Retail, which will be sold in two tranches. Sources valued the first tranche of the assets as high as A$650mil and said the data room was due to open next week with final bids due on Oct 23.
No specific timetable has been set for the sale of the second batch of assets. –