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Bridget Carter

Deutsche, Amicaa raise their hands, keen to grab Investec’s $1.2bn loan portfolio

Bridget Carter
The Investec portfolio is a mix of Australian leveraged finance and asset-backed loans.
The Investec portfolio is a mix of Australian leveraged finance and asset-backed loans.

New names have emerged in the competition for Investec’s $1.2bn loan portfolio, which is up for sale.

DataRoom has learned that as well as Macquarie Group, Bank of America and Metrics Credit Partners, Deutsche Bank is lining up for the portfolio, along with Australia-based Amicaa.

Amicaa is the business founded and run by Bank of America’s former Australian investment banking boss David Wood and is believed to have backing to acquire the portfolio from Australian and Asian investors. It offers funds management and corporate advisory services.

Another name that has emerged is Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, although it is unclear whether the global buyout fund has made it through to round two of the contest. Bids are due at the end of this month.

The portfolio is a mix of Australian leveraged finance and asset-backed loans and is on the market after Investec is understood to have fielded offers from international banks, credit funds and special situation funds.

The sale follows a recent decision by the London and Johannesburg-listed Investec to exit Australia and focus on core markets after operating here for 23 years. The transition is expected to happen over the next 12 to 18 months.

Working on the divestment is the Australian corporate advisory division, which was previously attached to the bank and has now been subject to a management buyout.

Investec offloaded its professional finance business to Bank of Queensland in 2014.

After announcing a retreat from the local market last year, Investec plans to run down its Australian loan books.

Initially, special situation funds came forward with offers of about 90c in the dollar for the book. But there have also been offers from parties prepared to pay at least book value.

When British bank Lloyds left the Australian market after the GFC, it offloaded a $1.6bn loan portfolio in 2011 for about 35c in the dollar and a $2bn portfolio the following year.

The portfolio included some bad loans on distressed property developments, written before the GFC by its subsidiary, Bank of Scotland International.

Buyers of the assets included Canadian private equity firm Brookfield and US banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley.

As with Investec, the sale was part of a retreat from the Australian market, focusing on its core business of corporate lending to major property groups and asset finance.

At that time, companies were carrying too much debt, but they’re better capitalised in the current downturn.

Investec is among a number of banks to expand into Australia before later opting to withdraw.

British bank Barclays wound down its Australian operations but recently returned by way of a small investment in Barrenjoey Capital Partners.

Malaysian lender CIMB shut its Australian operations five years ago, while Deutsche Bank also shut down its global equities sales and trading business.

Bridget Carter
Bridget CarterDataRoom Editor

Bridget Carter has worked as a writer and editor for The Australian’s DataRoom column since it was launched in 2013, focusing on capital markets, mergers and acquisitions, private equity and investment banking. She has been a journalist for more than 18 years, covering a broad range of events and topics, including high profile court cases and crimes, natural disasters, social issues and company news.

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Original URL: https://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/dataroom/deutsche-amicaa-raise-their-hands-keen-to-grab-investecs-12bn-loan-portfolio/news-story/9aa0e22d8c71cbc2a7e99648e9d4ddbe