Investment heavyweights QIC Ltd and AMP Capital are in talks to bring a successful Kiwi business combination back to Australia.
It is understood the two owners of New Zealand's largest electricity distributor Powerco are in late-stage talks about teaming up for a tilt at New South Wales' up-for-sale network company, Endeavour Energy.
While sources said the pair had yet to put pen to paper, they obviously know each other well and have a common knowledge and understanding of the sector thanks to Powerco.
As Street Talk reported earlier this week, QIC Ltd heads to Endeavour's auction as one of the lead contenders. It is already working with Canada's Borealis Infrastructure in a bid to be put together with the help of investment banks Credit Suisse and HSBC.
AMP would be the third equity member in the group, should talks advance as expected.
Powerco is NZ's biggest electricity distributor in terms of network length, covering almost 30,000kms and with more than 330,000 connections.
Endeavour, by comparison, has a network stretching about 35,000kms and almost 1 million customers.
AMP bought its Powerco stake in mid-2013, beating State Grid Corporation of China and others to take the investment off Brookfield Infrastructure Partners. The deal valued Powerco at about $1 billion.
Endeavour would be a much larger cheque size. NSW is seeking to sell a 50.4 per cent stake, which is expected to be worth about $4 billion. The new owner would also be responsible for lining up debt for the network company.
NSW's advisers Deutsche Bank and UBS are seeking expressions of interest by the close of business on Monday.
Should AMP make it to the Endeavour auction, it would be a new face in the NSW privatisation race having sat out contests for the likes of Port Botany, Port of Newcastle, TransGrid and Ausgrid in the past three years.
