Investment banks have been given something to think about over the weekend.
Street Talk can reveal the Victorian government is seeking pitches for a mandate to sell its land titles unit.
It is understood Victoria's Department of Treasury and Finance has contacted banks, asking for ideas, potential costs, deal structures and experience on similar transactions.
The state is seeking an adviser to run a scoping study in the second half of the year, which is likely recommend a sale in line with other states including New South Wales and South Australia.
The request for proposal comes after the Victorian government flagged the land titles office was expected to be worth about $2 billion [depending on the concession structure and length] on May 2.
"We are identifying in this budget that we'll start the work of looking at the processes of how we might better commercialise the value and the asset that is the land titles office," Treasurer Tim Pallas said at the time.
Victoria's move mirrors a similar play in New South Wales, where NSW netted $2.6 billion. That deal took about three years to come together, with a scoping study commissioned before significant separation work prior to the sale.
South Australia is also going down the same path and is seeking bids for its land titles office late next month.
