(Bloomberg) — A unit of Brookfield Infrastructure Partners has joined HRL Morrison & Co.’s camp vying for Uniti Group Ltd. as a bidding war breaks out over the Australian telecommunications company.
Uniti has granted a new exclusivity agreement that covers both Brookfield Infrastructure Group Australia Pty and the New Zealand infrastructure investment firm, according to a statement to the exchange Thursday.
Macquarie Asset Management and PSP Investments made a rival offer on Thursday to buy Uniti for about A$5 per share, valuing the company at A$3.4 billion ($2.5 billion). That’s higher than Morrison’s cash offer of A$4.50 per share, which it tabled last week.
The Macquarie-led bid is at a 7% premium to Wednesday’s stock price before trading was suspended. The board is considering the proposal.
Macquarie Proposal Nudges Uniti Toward Bidding War: M&A Snapshot
Shares in Uniti closed down 0.6% in Sydney on Thursday, ending a five-day winning streak.
Global telecommunications deal volume in 2021 hit the highest level in two decades, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, as the coronavirus pandemic accelerated the digital shift in everything from e-commerce to entertainment.
In one of Australia’s biggest deals last year, data services company Vocus Group Ltd. agreed to an A$4.5 billion takeover by pension fund Aware Super Pty and Macquarie’s infrastructure unit.
In January, Macquarie and Aware bought Trilogy International Partners Inc.’s majority stake in New Zealand telecom company 2degrees, in a deal valuing the firm at NZ$1.7 billion ($1.2 billion). The buyers had been pursuing a potential merger of 2degrees with Vocus unit Orcon Group since October.
(Updates throughout with Brookfield joining bid.)
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