Asciano says it has received "a number" of bidders to purchase Pacific National's Tasmanian business
Asciano says it has received “a number” of bidders to purchase Pacific National’s Tasmanian business.
The troubled infrastructure and transport group has assured the market the sale of the assets is “progressing well”.
Asciano is offloading the loss-making business as part of a corporate restructure aimed at consolidating assets and arresting a falling share price.
It’s been a roller-coaster ride for the company of late, after announcing it had cracked the lucrative Queensland coal haulage market and rebuffing a takeover bid from private equity raiders.
A statement from the company says all indicative offers for the Tasmanian business have been received and bidders have been selected to progress to the next stage.
“The successful bidders have demonstrated that they have an understanding of the value of the business as a going concern and are serious about purchasing the company,” Asciano says.
It says bidders will conduct their own due diligence with access to “comprehensive” information on the assets, liabilities, contracts and operations of the company.
The process is expected to be completed next month.
Pacific National threatened to pull out of the State entirely without upgrades to the rail track, forcing both the Commonwealth and the State Government to pump millions into track improvements.