Private equity race for Singapore Post assets

Brookfield, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Pacific Equity Partners have been looking at Singapore Post’s Australian assets, but Blackstone is seen as the favourite.

The $1bn competition for Singapore Post’s Australian assets is now one only among private equity firms, according to sources, with strategic buyers gone from the process.

First-round bids were accepted last week, and the understanding is that the New Zealand-listed Mainfreight was among the suitors, as was Allegro’s Team Global Express.

However, they have not been let through to the second round.

Strategic groups were understood to have been excluded from the process because of concerns surrounding the sharing of sensitive information.

Among the private equity funds that have been looking are Brookfield, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Pacific Equity Partners and potentially EQT.

Blackstone is shaping up as the party to beat, with some tipping it as the contest favourite.

Mainfreight is New Zealand’s largest logistics and transport company, based in Auckland and listed on the NZX with a market value of more than $NZ7bn ($6.3bn), while TGE was carved out of Toll Holdings and sold by Japan Post.

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

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 as a diversified logistics holding company with divisions across fourth party logistics and warehousing, transportation and technology.