Macquarie Capital's equities desk kicked off the sale of $390 million worth of Link Administration shares on Friday, as revealed by Street Talk. 

The broker was calling for bids for 52.5 million shares from $7.42 a piece, which was in line with Link's last closing price. Macquarie then priced the deal at $7.46 after strong demand from fund managers.

The block trade of previously escrowed shares comes after a spurt of pitching from brokers on Friday. Sources told Street Talk that equities desks including UBS, Macquarie and Deutsche Bank had been seeking to buy the parcel of shares and offload the stock to institutional investors. 

Those shares were released from escrow at 4pm on Friday. Link administers wealth management services for superannuation funds and owns a share registry.

The escrowed shares are held by local private equity firm Pacific Equity Partners (21.7 million), Intermediate Capital Group (21.7 million) and Macquarie Group (9.1 million), and were worth about $390 million at the floor price.

Given Macquarie's stake in the company the firm was viewed as the frontrunner to win the trade. It's the first block of shares to be released from escrow since Link listed last October. 

Link was the biggest among 2015's  initial public offerings. The company floated at $6.37 a share and has  traded as high as $7.99. Macquarie was allocating the stock to investors on Friday evening.

• Share
• Share via Email
• Share on Google Plus
• Post on facebook wall
• Share on twitter
• Post to Linkedin
• Share on Reddit

Bell Potter Securities has launched a $5 million equity raising for junior debt book acquirer Pioneer Credit on Friday.  

The broker contacted clients on Friday morning, seeking to sell 2.9 million new shares at $1.70 each. 

The offer was priced in line with Pioneer Credit's last close. 

Pioneer Credit's raising comes only days after Pioneer Credit said it had signed a new partnership with one of Australia's leading investment banks. The agreement would see Pioneer secure a parcel of customers immediately. 

Pioneer Credit buys unsecured retail customer loans and sees them through to recovery. 

Bell Potter was seeking bids by 4pm Friday. 

The deal is expected to be announced on Monday. 

• Share
• Share via Email
• Share on Google Plus
• Post on facebook wall
• Share on twitter
• Post to Linkedin
• Share on Reddit

Global Traffic Network has been valued at up to $447 million by Macquarie, according to a pre-marketing research report sent to fund managers and obtained by Street Talk on Friday morning. 

"We value GTN using an equal-weight blend of earnings capitalisation and DCF methodologies, arriving an equity valuation of $346 million to $447 million," Macquarie analyst Jennifer Kruk wrote. 

The analyst told clients it preferred an enterprise value-to-EBITDA valuation method due to the differing capital intensity and gearing among GTN's peers. Macquarie recommended a 9.5-to-12-times forward EBITDA multiple, which was a premium to the ex-100 broadcast media and ad agency peers and a 14 per cent discount to the wider industrials index. 

Macquarie said GTN's biggest risk was around its affiliate agreements including maintaining and winning new work. 

As Street Talk revealed last year, GTN met with institutional investors ahead of a potential $400 million float. Macquarie Capital was mandated at sole lead manager. 

More recently, the media company's local arm Australian Traffic Network inked a 20-year deal with Southern Cross valued at $207 million. 

Australian Traffic Network's reporters will have 3 per cent of total metro radio inventory on Southern Cross stations and 0.5 per cent in regional areas. 

The long-term deal was expected to act as a catalyst for Global Traffic Network to revive plans for an initial public offering. 

 

• Share
• Share via Email
• Share on Google Plus
• Post on facebook wall
• Share on twitter
• Post to Linkedin
• Share on Reddit

Global private equity giant Bain Capital is considering a bid for Australia's third largest consumer electronics and appliances chain The Good Guys, sources told Street Talk on Thursday night.

While sources cautioned Bain's interest is preliminary, the private equity firm has form in the retail space, acquiring a majority stake in Retail Zoo, which owns Boost Juice, in 2014. Bain also mulled an offer for active wear chain Lorna Jane in the same year.

As previously revealed by Street Talk, South African based retailer Steinhoff International is also weighing a bid for The Good Guys. 

Any buyer is likely to wait until The Good Guys chairman Andrew Muir has completed buying back half the chain's stores from his joint venture partners.

About 45 of The Good Guys 100-odd stores are owned by Muir and about 55 are joint ventures with store operators.

Muir is said to be offering about $200,000 per store plus retention bonuses to keep former owners on board after the buy- back, which is on track to be completed mid-calendar 2016.

Keeping a close eye on developments is Marcus Fletcher, Muir's long time adviser at Helfen Corporate Advisory.  Fletcher was recently joined by former BaML banker David Petrie.
 

 

• Share
• Share via Email
• Share on Google Plus
• Post on facebook wall
• Share on twitter
• Post to Linkedin
• Share on Reddit

Fund managers will know a lot more about WiseTech Global boss Richard White on Friday morning. 

The man with the $500 million stake in the logistics software company and his team were left with an important decision on Thursday night; take a strong and well-spread shareholder register at $3.20 a share or go with a narrower list of funds at $3.35. 

WiseTech opted for $3.35, as revealed by Street Talk on Thursday night - a number which would see it list with a $970 million market capitalisation, having raised $168 million.

​It's understood pre-IPO investors Fidelity and SmallCo increased their shareholdings. Fidelity is expected to become a substantial shareholder.

WiseTech's market capitalisation is expected to be $970 million on listing.

As Street Talk revealed earlier on Thursday morning, investors were told the book was covered at $3.20 with only two hours left of bidding. With the book covered at $3.20, the brokers were seeking bids at $3.35 a share, $3.50, $3.65 and at similar intervals up to the $4.12 ceiling price. 

The brokers closed the books at midday. 

WiseTech, run by Richard White, was seeking to raise $100 million to $220 million in an initial public offering at $2.58 to $4.12 a share. 

WiseTech is set to begin trading on Monday. 

It's always a tough call for the listing company. Going higher is probably not what a lot of institutional investors would have wanted. They love getting a bargain and that extra surety that their shares should pop on day one and set the ASX alight. 

As Street Talk reported on Thursday, fundies said they felt like the IPO would get done at $3.20, although perhaps that was wishful thinking. 

Either way, WiseTech is set to become Australia's newest $1 billion tech stock. 

Bookrunners Credit Suisse and Morgan Stanley helped the company defy shaky markets for tech listings worldwide, although their plight was helped by the fact WiseTech comes to market as a profitable company. It forecast $26.1 million profit in the 2017 financial year on a proforma basis. 

The company's shares will begin trading on Monday. 

Elsewhere in capital markets, fundies will not be surprised if they get a call from their Macquarie broker on Friday afternoon. 

At stake is a 52.5 million parcel of Link Administration shares, worth about $400 million, which will be released from escrow at 4pm. 

Among the vendors is Macquarie Group - which makes it extremely hard for other brokers to run the trade. It's the first block of shares to be released from escrow since Link listed in October. Link floated at $6.37 a share and has since traded as high as $7.99. 

• Share
• Share via Email
• Share on Google Plus
• Post on facebook wall
• Share on twitter
• Post to Linkedin
• Share on Reddit