Key Takeaways
- • Ares Management, the New York-listed credit manager, submitted an offer on Friday night for Rio Tinto's power infrastructure assets, which are valued at about $7 billion and located in Australia and Canada, according to people involved in the process.
- • Ares has hired JPMorgan and UBS to advise on due diligence and funding for the bid.
- • At least three heavyweight bidders have formally entered the race, with KKR and BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) named alongside Ares.
- • The sale is a significant infrastructure carve-out for Rio Tinto, with the outcome likely to set a valuation benchmark for large-scale power assets in the two markets.
Summary
The contest for Rio Tinto's roughly $7 billion portfolio of power infrastructure assets in Australia and Canada is drawing at least three large bidders, according to the Australian Financial Review's Street Talk column. Ares Management, the New York-listed credit and alternative asset manager, lodged an offer on Friday night, people involved in the proceedings told the publication.
To support its bid, Ares has retained JPMorgan and UBS to advise on due diligence and financing. The use of bank advisers at this stage indicates that the firm is preparing for a structured process that will require both detailed asset review and committed funding.
Ares is not alone in pursuing the assets. KKR and BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners are also reported to be competing, making the auction a head-to-head contest among some of the largest infrastructure and private capital investors. The assets are described as power infrastructure, a sector that has attracted sustained institutional interest because of long-duration, contracted cash flows.
The article does not disclose the final bid deadline, the expected sale timetable, or the specific assets included beyond their geographic footprint in Australia and Canada. Readers should treat the $7 billion figure as the reported value of the auction rather than a confirmed transaction price.
To support its bid, Ares has retained JPMorgan and UBS to advise on due diligence and financing. The use of bank advisers at this stage indicates that the firm is preparing for a structured process that will require both detailed asset review and committed funding.
Ares is not alone in pursuing the assets. KKR and BlackRock's Global Infrastructure Partners are also reported to be competing, making the auction a head-to-head contest among some of the largest infrastructure and private capital investors. The assets are described as power infrastructure, a sector that has attracted sustained institutional interest because of long-duration, contracted cash flows.
The article does not disclose the final bid deadline, the expected sale timetable, or the specific assets included beyond their geographic footprint in Australia and Canada. Readers should treat the $7 billion figure as the reported value of the auction rather than a confirmed transaction price.
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