New World order

16 March 2017 By Quentin Webb

The billionaire Cheng clan is snapping up Australia’s Alinta Energy from the U.S. buyout firm and others. With a mooted $3 bln price, the surprise deal handily beats a likely IPO valuation. Hong Kong’s richest families apparently can’t get enough of stable Aussie businesses.

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Hong Kong's Cheng family has agreed to buy Alinta Energy, the Australian power generator and retailer said on March 16. No value was disclosed but two sources familiar with the situation told Reuters the deal valued the company at about A$4 billion ($3 billion).

The Cheng family fortune totals nearly $18 billion, according to Forbes estimates, making it the third-largest in Hong Kong. The purchase will be done via the family's private holding company, Chow Tai Fook Enterprises, which controls the listed conglomerate New World Development.

Alinta is owned by TPG, the U.S. buyout firm, and other investors. They took control in 2011 through a debt-for-equity swap, and have been exploring an initial public offering since late 2014, according to Reuters and other media reports.

In November the owners postponed an IPO, blaming volatile markets after the U.S. election.

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