weekend afr article, page-17

I keyed this in from AFR:

BEWARE ASCIANO HYPE

Shares in troubled ports and rail group Asciano rocketed on Friday, but investors might be wise not to count chickens before they hatch. Despite the hype, it’s thought there are just two serious bidders still in the mix – private equity groups the Carlyle Group and TPG, which both lodged bids for the company as part of consortiums, and the port assets.

The Future Fund and Morgan Stanley Investment Management are still watching the process from the sidelines but are thought to have failed to lodge conforming bids.

Global Infrastructure Partners this week dropped out of the TPG-led consortium, sparking speculation it may bid alone.

However, the reality is there’s little pricing tension and some Asciano lenders are believed to be so concerned that the asset has moved away from relationship bankers to the work-out team.

AFR 09/05/2009.