With the successful bid, the consortium snaps up a 49% interest in WestConnex
King & Wood Mallesons (KWM) has helped the Sydney Transport Partners (STP) consortium to pull off a $11.1bn bid that grants the consortium a 49% interest in WestConnex, the biggest toll road project in Australia.
According to KWM partner Adrian Perkins, who co-led the firm’s deal team on the transaction, the deal “will give all parties a long-dated concession in a well-established and growing traffic corridor in Sydney.”
The STP consortium’s successful bid on two 24.5% stakes was confirmed by the NSW government, the firm said. The consortium consists of Transurban (50%), AustralianSuper (20.5%), Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPP Investments) (10.5%), Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) (10.0%) and Tawreed Investments Limited (a wholly owned subsidiary of Abu Dhabi Investment Authority) (9.0%).
KWM’s involvement was not limited to the acquisition of the interest; the firm assisted on several other aspects including the consortium funding and governance arrangements. The firm explained that the team also conducted broad due diligence on the WestConnex asset “as part of the submission of the offer to NSW government.”
Perkins was joined by fellow partners David Eliakim and Mark Upfold at the helm of the deal team. They received support from special counsel Andrew Phillipson and solicitors Jake Miyairi and Rhiannon Parker.
The team also benefited from partner Simon Cooke’s advice on the competition aspects, while partner Malcolm Brennan headed up the FIRB workstream.
Consortium member Transurban also received guidance from KWM on its $4.2bn capital raise – partners Joseph Muraca and Jack Hill took the lead with input from special counsel Gareth Howe.
In 2018, KWM had advised STP as it picked up a 51% interest in WestConnex for $9.3bn.
