Mum All Round On Macbid For Telstra
Sydney Morning Herald
Monday July 24, 2006
THE Federal Government has yet to be formally approached by Macquarie Bank, which is understood to be assessing buying a strategic stake from it in Telstra.
A decision from the Government on the future of its 51.8 per cent stake in the national telecommunications carrier is expected on August 10, the day the Telstra board hands down its full-year results.The Government would not comment on whether it had been approached by the bank."We've not yet made a decision whether we are going to sell. In conjunction with our advisers we are considering all options," said a spokesman for the Finance Minister, Nick Minchin, whose office is managing the difficult selldown of its Telstra stake.Macquarie Bank has declined to comment on its internal deliberations on Telstra.Telstra spokeswoman Liz Jurman also said Telstra would not comment on the speculation Macquarie was assessing a plan to take on Telstra.Macquarie's corporate finance division has been responsible for several ambitious plans in the past year, including an attempt to foil Toll Holdings' takeover for Patrick Corporation. While Macquarie proved it could raise large licks of equity - it raised nearly $3 billion in about a week - it was not successful. Its partner, Singapore's ports authority PSA, pulled out at the last minute after being scared off by an aggressive smear campaign targeting Macquarie by Toll's adviser Carnegie Wylie.However, Macquarie was successful when it paid $US1.7 billion for explosives company Dyno Nobel and then split it up.Macquarie's interest in the telecommunications sector was demonstrated last month when it attempted to take a tilt at Telstra's controversial partner in Asia, the Hong Kong telecom PCCW. That plan did not proceed after PCCW's major shareholder, China Netcom Group, said it would not support a foreign investor.Macquarie Media Group, which floated last year, owns 85 regional radio stations and a Taiwanese radio company.It is expected to be a player when Australia's media ownership laws change next year. Telstra's new media ambitions could also play a big part in Australia's media landscape in future years as internet TV becomes more prevalent.Macquarie's corporate finance division provided 40 per cent of the bank's profit in the past year.The Government has maintained that its preferred option for unloading the remainder of Telstra is for a retail and institutional offer. It has also said it could slip some or all of its stake to the Future Fund.Infrastructure funds off highs - Page 21
© 2006 Sydney Morning Herald