Infratil founder joins Rich List

By Nick Stride

Friday 2nd June 2000

Wellington entrepreneur Lloyd Morrison will realise $33.4 million from the sale of his majority-owned infrastructure investment management company HRL Morrison & Co.

Documents accompanying Macquarie Bank's 90Ac-a-share takeover offer for Infratil Australia and Morrison & Co show the bank will pay $19.6 million for Morrison & Co's employees and business and $A20.2 million ($25.2 million) to buy subsidiary Morrison & Co Australia out of its Infratil Australia (IFA) management contract.

Mr Morrison owns 65% of Morrison & Co, indicating he will receive $29.1 million from Macquarie. He also has 3.8 million IFA shares, netting a further $4.3 million.

Australia's Lend Lease owns 25% and Liberato Petagna owns the remaining 10%.

Macquarie's offer for Morrison & Co is conditional on the success of its bid for IFA.

The bid has the blessing of IFA's directors but it may yet be topped by Australian Infrastructure Fund, which has a rival all-scrip offer in the market.

Macquarie said it had no plans to make takeover offers for Infratil New Zealand or Utilico, the international Infratil arm, despite its bid for IFA.

"We haven't even thought about those issues," Macquarie Infrastructure Group external affairs manager Dennis Eagar said last week. "We have no interest in Infratil New Zealand at this stage."

Mr Eagar said Macquarie Infrastructure Group was essentially a toll road owner and was interested in IFA because its investments in the Perth, Darwin, and Northern Territories airports exhibited similar characteristics to toll roads - "limited competition, GDP-plus growth, but with a bit more risk and a bit more upside."

Macquarie has indicated it will sell IFA's controlling stake, valued by Infratil at $A86 million, in Victorian generator Southern Hydro.

The bank specialises in infrastructure investment and is the world's second-largest infrastructure privatisation adviser.

Lloyd Morrison

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