IT was taken somewhat as a given that should CapitaLand embark on a block trade of its major holding in Australand, the bankers working on the deal would be JPMorgan.
CapitaLand, which until yesterday held 60 per cent in Australand, however, was advised by Citigroup.
It surprised some in the market, because JPMorgan was CapitaLand's adviser last year when GPT Group launched a takeover bid for Australand.
JPMorgan had been working on the deal until recently, sources said. One source said the stock did not look cheap and there could be some funds that did not participate.
However, Citi has also been working with the company for months, according to some sources, and has worked on some of the biggest equity raisings in the real estate sector in recent years.
The bank is underwriting CapitaLand's selldown of Australand, which is expected to reap $426 million for the Singaporean giant.
One source close to the deal said JPMorgan shunned the work for CapitaLand because the investment bank did not believe that it was possible to sell the shares in the company at that price and questioned where the demand would come from.
CapitaLand declined to comment.
The Singaporean company will sell 115.66 million shares in Australand at between $3.685 to $3.75 each. The shares are being sold at a 1.7 per cent discount to the last traded price of $3.75 and at a 4.2 per cent discount to the average price over the past five days.
However, the take-up of the offer by fund managers will be known today, with sources saying the selldown was restricted to 20 per cent because the market would not be able to absorb more.