Australia’s Qube Holdings’ shares jump to record high on Macquarie-led $8.3 billion takeover deal
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Shares of Australia's Qube Holdings jumped to a record high Monday after the ports and logistics company agreed to be taken over by a consortium led by Macquarie Asset Management at an enterprise value of about $11.7 billion Australian dollars ($8.26 billion).Qube Holdings jumped 3.6% to over $5 Australian dollars.The offer represents a 27.8% premium to Qube's last closing price of AU$4.07 on Nov. 21, the final trading day before the company announced it had entered an exclusivity process for the deal, Qube said in a statement.The deal is structured as an all-cash offer of A$5.20 per share for public shareholders, other than UniSuper which holds about 15% of Qube and will roll its stake into a new holding structure.The consortium is led by Macquarie Asset Management and includes UniSuper and Pontegadea, the investment firm of Spanish billionaire and Zara founder Amancio Ortega."The scheme consideration represents a significant premium to the share price prior to the announcement. It reflects the strength of the business today and the strong growth prospects Qube enjoys," said Qube Chairman John Bevan.Qube is a major Australian logistics and infrastructure group with operations spanning Australia, Southeast Asia and New Zealand. Its network handles a range of freight services, including bulk commodity exports. The company employs around 10,000 people.The transaction is expected to be put to shareholders around June 2026, and will be subject to regulatory approvals, including from Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board, the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, New Zealand's Overseas Investment Office and Papua New Guinea's competition regulator.If the deal is delayed beyond Dec. 15, 2026, the consortium would pay an extra 2 Australian cents per share per month until completion.Macquarie Asset Management currently manages around AU$720 billion in assets globally across public and private markets with portfolio companies spanning across the infrastructure, real estate and green investments sectors.Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inboxGet this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.© 2026 Versant Media, LLC.
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