abbot point, page-2

Here is the link.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/business/opinion/nathan-tinkler-clings-to-hope-as-adani-leads-abbot-point-port-bid/story-e6frg9if-1226047988509


NATHAN Tinkler was still clinging late yesterday to his hope of running Queensland's Abbot Point Coal Terminal with former Asciano chief executive Mark Rowsthorn as the Queensland government reviewed a new offer designed to edge out the initial recommended bid of about $1.8 billion by Indian conglomerate Adani Group.

Adani is still believed to be the frontrunner, but as of yesterday Queensland Treasurer Andrew Fraser had not ticked off on a winner. Queensland has a Labour Day public holiday today, but an announcement on the winning bidder for Abbot Point is believed to be imminent.

A sale at near the $2bn mark would be a very good result for the Queensland government, which was expecting to receive closer to $1.5bn.

It's understood Queensland Premier Anna Bligh had been preparing to award Adani the 99-year lease to operate the terminal. It had submitted the highest bid when offers closed last month. However, the Credit Suisse-advised Tinkler, who is bidding in concert with offshore investment funds, increased his initial offer late last week.

Sources said his latest bid was $50 million to $100m above Adani's.

Tinkler has set up a ports and infrastructure business called International Port & Logistics as a vehicle for the bid. It's believed Rowsthorn was lured to Tinkler's team after his surprise departure from Asciano in February.

Miners, including Xstrata, which operates the terminal, are said to have raised a number of concerns about Adani holding the Abbot Point lease. The Indian group, led by billionaire Gautam Adani, has already been granted the right to examine the feasibility of an export facility at Dudgeon Point, and one concern is that an operator with interests in two ports may not be able to expand both.

Some miners are also concerned that Adani is interested in securing infrastructure for eventual export of coal from its Carmichael coal project in the Galilee Basin after striking a $3bn deal with Linc Energy last year for the deposit. They fear Adani may put service to its own coal operations ahead of other customers.

But it's believed Adani has detailed its expansion plans for the Abbot Point terminal as part of its bid. The competition regulator, which received submissions from mining customers as part of its examination of Adani's bid, has also granted the Indian group anti-trust approval.

Adani, which operates India's biggest private port, last year looked at buying the Port of Brisbane before the asset was sold for $2.1bn to a consortium including Global Infrastructure Partners, Queensland Investment Corporation and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Canada's Brookfield Infrastructure and a Macquarie-advised consortium including Hong Kong's Cheung Kong Infrastructure and Deutsche Bank's RREEF Infrastructure were the other bidders for Abbot Point. It's understood most of the bids were close to the $1.5bn mark. Brookfield had been touted as the frontrunner, but Adani's bid was higher.