Brookfield joins queue of interest in Singapore Post assets

On offer are the Singapore Post-owned businesses Freight Management Holdings and CouriersPlease.

Brookfield has joined the list of heavyweight private equity firms vying for Singapore Post’s $1bn portfolio of Australian assets.

Bids are expected to be due in the next few weeks, say sources, with information memorandums out in the market.

Canada’s Brookfield, which is currently selling its $3bn retirement living business Aveo and last year made attempts to buy Origin Energy, joins Blackstone, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Pacific Equity Partners and EQT in lining up for the offering.

It is understood that suitors have already mandated advisers for their tilt.

On offer are the Singapore Post-owned businesses Freight Management Holdings and CouriersPlease, which are being sold through Bank of America.

The understanding is that the businesses generate about $120m of annual earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation.

Singapore Post’s sale plans had been well flagged within its home market.

It describes Freight Management Holdings Group as a diversified logistics holding company with divisions across fourth party logistics and warehousing, transportation and technology.

It also owns Border Express, a freight service with 16 facilities and more than 700 vehicles in Australia, which provides end-to-end interstate logistics services, along with CouriersPlease, a franchised courier and parcel delivery service, providing shipping services to e-commerce retailers and traders nationally.

The Australian operations of Singapore Post generated $921m in revenue for the year to March, compared to $866.7m in the previous corresponding year, and operating profit of $63.2m compared to $62.3m for the previous corresponding period.

The company said in its results that the continued growth in the Australia business was underpinned by new customer acquisitions and volume growth, despite challenging market conditions.

Not ready for takeoff

Virgin Australia’s bankers haven’t picked up their pens for a revived initial public offering just yet, but all going well, the hope is to have the $3bn carrier listed by the first half of next year.

The market talk several weeks ago was that they wanted to capitalise on the momentum of the Guzman y Gomez float mid-year, but this was held up by the Qatar negotiations which were revived after initially unfolding last year.

The holdup will be gaining ACCC and FIRB approval for Qatar to buy a 25 per cent stake in Virgin. Usually, there’s a 30 per cent free float needed for an IPO to gain traction, which would not include Bain Capital or Qatar’s stake.