Macquarie Leads Deal to Buy Aussie Logistics Giant Qube for $8.3B

A consortium led by Macquarie Asset Management has agreed to buy ASX-listed Qube Holdings in a deal valuing the Sydney-based logistics operator at A$11.7 billion ($8.3 billion).

The consortium’s members include Australian pension fund UniSuper, which already holds a 15.07 percent stake in Qube, and Spain’s Pontegadea, the family office of Zara fashion chain founder Amancio Ortega, according to a Monday stock filing. Under the deal terms, holders other than UniSuper will receive A$5.20 per share in cash, representing a 27.8 premium to the stock’s last closing price before the offer was announced last November.

The bid for Australia’s largest logistics provider comes amid rising interest in Down Under infrastructure, including last month’s acquisition of land within a Melbourne freight precinct by C Capital, a firm co-founded by former New World Development CEO Adrian Cheng. Qube’s board of directors has unanimously recommended acceptance of the Macquarie-led offer, said chairman John Bevan.

“The scheme consideration represents a significant premium to the share price prior to announcement,” Bevan said. “It reflects the strength of the business today and the strong growth prospects Qube enjoys as a leading logistics provider across Australia, New Zealand and the region.”

GIC Reportedly in Talks

The deal remains subject to shareholder, court and regulatory approvals. Qube’s cornerstone assets include a half-stake in Patrick, Australia’s biggest container terminal operator, and the Moorebank Intermodal Precinct, a logistics hub owned and operated in conjunction with the national government and industrial specialist ESR.

Other parties backing the deal are understood to include Brisbane-based Brighter Super and US asset manager Mercer, and the Australian Financial Review reported Sunday that Macquarie was in talks with Singapore sovereign giant GIC on co-investing. A GIC representative had no comment when contacted Monday.

UniSuper will forgo cash payment and roll its existing Qube stake into the consortium at equivalent value. Macquarie is investing on behalf of its managed funds and clients, with a mandate to build on Qube’s 200 sites in Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia and explore new opportunities across Asia Pacific. 

“Macquarie Asset Management has extensive experience in developing supply chain infrastructure, security and resilience,” Ani Satchcroft, the firm’s co-head of APAC infrastructure, said in a separate statement. “We look forward to partnering with our co-investors and working with Qube’s world class management team, as the company enters its next phase.”

Industrial Strength

The Qube deal comes after C Capital, a unit of Swiss-listed Youngtimers AG, last month acquired 507 hectares (1,253 acres) of land north of Melbourne for industrial projects with an expected end value of A$4.5 billion ($3.2 billion).

The development site lies on the southern boundary of the planned Beveridge Intermodal Freight Terminal, a key connection to Australia’s future Inland Rail freight line. The firm co-founded by the scion of the billionaire Cheng family behind Hong Kong’s New World and Chow Tai Fook plans to build logistics, industrial and data centre projects on the land with ASX-listed Lendlease as master development partner.

Last week, Australian fund manager Charter Hall and Japanese property giant Mitsubishi Estate unveiled a joint venture to develop a large-scale industrial park in Melbourne’s western suburbs.

The project will provide 40,000 square metres (430,556 square feet) of warehouse space as the first stage of a A$500 million ($356 million) estate with development potential of up to 175,000 square metres of lettable area, the companies said.