Australia's listed real estate sector is rocketing back to the deal-soaked days of the pre-GFC era.
Years of cheap credit, the falling Aussie dollar and the hunger for yield have unleashed a wave of merger and acquisitions, leaving few listed landlords free of takeover speculation.
Mirvac is the latest of the large players to fall under the spotlight.
The trust is on the verge of appointing a defence adviser, with the field narrowed to two US banks, JPMorgan and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
According to sources Mirvac will sign up one of the banks within the next week.
News of the looming appointment follows a frenetic few weeks in the sector after the mega $11 billion merger between Novion Property Group, the shopping centre trust once controlled by Commonwealth Bank, and Federation Centres, the refashioned Centro business.
The market is also braced for Morgan Stanley’s widely-flagged exit from its $9bn commercial real estate empire, Investa Property Group. As The Australian reported this week, a board meeting on February 17 could precipitate the launch of a sales process with many anticipating Investa’s directly-owned assets will be the first to be put on the block.
In these febrile conditions, Mirvac’s decision to rope in an adviser will serve as grist to the mill to those convinced a suitor lurks in the wings.