AB Ports 1 Australia 2

For a country with a small population, Australia’s punch is being felt across the world – not just on the soccer pitch but in a whole range of industry sectors. A takeover battle has erupted for Associated British Ports as a rival group led by Australia’s Macquarie Bank Ltd. made a bid at the same level as Goldman Sachs raised offer. Both groups have made offers valuing the ABP company at nearly 2.6 billion pounds.

AB Ports, owns 21 ports across Britain including Grimsby and Hull, as well as a 49 percent stake in the Southampton container port, rejected the initial Goldman Sachs’ bid of £7.30 share in March.

Goldman Sachs’ Admiral consortium was the first to reveal it had raised its bid to £8.40 per share, just a day after it had reached agreement with AB Ports for a takeover at £8.18 per share.

The raise was interpreted as an attempt to hold off a rival bid from a consortium including Australia’s Macquarie Bank and its partners.

However, ABP said it had also received a proposal from the Macquarie consortium indicating a cash price equivalent to the Goldman Sachs offer already on the table.

AB Ports shares increased by 5.4 percent to close at £8.71 on the London Stock Market.

Speculation about a counterbid began Wednesday when Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein jumped into the market and began buying AB Ports shares.

Port operators have become attractive takeover targets of late due to their stable income streams, large property portfolios and buoyant shipping markets on the back of growth in Chinese trade flows.

It looks like a bidding war will break out over the next few days. The number of great M&A in the UK market look set to fuel even more great bonuses for the city come christmas time.