Investa Office Fund is expected to remain under scrutiny this week, with suggestions groups such as Charter Hall, Cromwell or private equity firm Blackstone may lob offers by next Monday to rival the one made by Dexus Property Group last week.
It is also expected that the $2.5bn Investa Commercial Property Fund will retaliate following the Dexus merger deal.
An Asian player could also come into the frame.
A rival bidder will have only until the end of this week to avoid a $23.5 million break fee payable to Dexus under the terms of the deal.
One theory doing the round is that Dexus was approached by an adviser, Fort Street, some time ago to sound out the company’s interest in IOF.
At the time, Dexus did not want to participate in a deal.
However, in recent weeks, when the rival group was asked to name its price, Dexus is believed to have returned to the negotiating table.
A letter by IOF staff to its board, outlining their disapproval of the merger deal with Dexus, was obtained by The Australian on Friday.
Staff have instead called on the board to pursue a joint path of internalisation with IOF’s stablemate, the Investa Commercial Property Fund, or to maintain the status quo of external management with services provided by the existing platform.
Meanwhile, Mirvac is understood to have almost finalised a deal with China Investment Corporation to manage the portfolio of Australian office assets it purchased from Investa earlier this year.
Sources say that the terms of the deal outline a five-year contract where Mirvac is paid fees equating to 3.5 per cent net operating income plus performance fees.