As the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) chairman, Rod Sims said that he would have already cleared the Transurban’s bid for Sydney’s $16.8 billion WestConnex toll roads, if it did not have any important concerns, the ACCC extended its review to September 6, 2018 and was due to rule on whether Transurban could proceed. Mr. Sims also acknowledged that the delay caused complications for the NSW government’s sale process, which has only Consortiums led by Transurban and IFM – the remaining bidders – due to submit bids, but he said the ACCC had to make the right decision, which has about 10 people evaluating. The previous toll road acquisitions such as Queensland Motorways has been approved by the ACCC but WestConnex was unique, as identified.
As a latest update on the sale of WestConnex assets by the NSW Government, Transurban-led consortium, i.e., Sydney Transport Partners (STP), has submitted a bid that entails 51% interest in the assets under discussion; and the group is eying for all necessary approvals in this regard.

WestConnex is a large project right in the heart of Sydney influencing or connecting future road projects so if there was ever a project that was going to raise competition implications, then it could only be WestConnex. Spanish toll road operator Cintra criticized Australian governments in May for accepting unsolicited toll road bids from Transurban, and said, the competition issue for them is the market for new toll roads, be they coming up in tenders or unsolicited bids. Including evaluating whether a transaction could be done with clauses allowing for regulatory issues, the NSW government, which needs billions of dollars from the sale to pay for the third stage of WestConnex, is understood to be examining whether it can continue with the sale process despite the delay.

Transurban Group (ASX: TCL), a great infrastructure stock tips, has depicted for $11.4 billion of new developments and asset enhancements and $7.7 billion of acquisitions. The company has achieved significant growth since FY08 while consistently growing distributions. The company’s investment proposition is supported by its capital strategy with balancing distribution growth. Average Daily Traffic (ADT) increased by 2.7%, with growth across all Australian markets, during the period of March 2018. Transurban Group was trading at a market price of $11.980 as at market open on July 23, 2018, and later slipped by about 1.25%.…

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