Real estate chain LJ Hooker, which is on course for a $400 million-plus initial public offering next year, has gathered $22m from investors in a pre-IPO capital raising — an early sign of the market’s confidence in the deal.
The news comes as investors approach Healthscope’s annual general meeting on Monday with heightened expectations of an imminent sell-down in the stock by TPG Capital and Carlyle, the private equity giants that listed the private hospital operator in 2014.
The two firms retained close to $900m worth of shares in the company after September’s $954m sell-down. The holding had been subject to a brief escrow but that lapsed earlier this month, fuelling expectations of another exit.
Yet while brokers have been circling, the market has been kept guessing about the structure of this final retreat.
It is understood a strategic investor is poised to swoop on 10 per cent of the holding but negotiations over this mooted deal have been prolonged and some remain sceptical a buyer will materialise. As this column noted recently, the sticking point has been the financing, with the strategic investor considering opportunistic funding arrangement.
The private Chinese conglomerate Fosun has long been linked to Healthscope, although it is unclear whether the investment powerhouse is the party behind the longstanding negotiations.
If TPG and Carlyle seize the opportunity presented by the AGM to sell most of their shares, the exit is likely to involve a sale of part of the stake to a strategic investor alongside a block trade.
Healthscope’s shares closed flat yesterday at $2.85.
Elsewhere, the successful conclusion of LJ Hooker’s pre-IPO financing will buoy expectations the real estate agency launched by Leslie Hooker in 1982 and one of the nation’s best-known brands will attract strong support for its move into public ownership.
Property remains a favoured investment sector for Australians and LJ Hooker’s tilt at the ASX follows its smaller rival’s move toward the boards. Institutional investors piled into the McGrath offer, which was priced at $2.10 a share last week and is due to list on December 9.
Meanwhile, the bookbuild for livestock exporter Wellard was launched yesterday, with the pricing on the deal expected to be known this afternoon.
It was several hours behind schedule after the company locked in Standard Chartered as a cornerstone investor for its initial public offering, as revealed by this column online yesterday.
Standard Chartered committed to shares worth $US25m, subject to escrow, which is likely to equate to about 6 per cent of the listed business.
This article first appeared in The Australian Business Review.