The following deals and houses are commended for excellence in FinanceAsia's second annual Achievement Awards. A gala dinner and presentation ceremony to honour the winners will be held at the harbourkitchen&bar at Sydney's Park Hyatt Hotel on Tuesday, February 3rd. For more information about the event please contact Vicki Shaw on (02) 9437 3070 or at [email protected].
House Awards
Best Local Commercial Bank
ANZ Bank
The purchase of National Bank of New Zealand in October 2003 was not only a well-executed acquisition, it boosted ANZ's asset base, making it the third largest bank in the country and increasing its ability to lend to corporates.
Best Foreign Commercial Bank
Citigroup
Citigroup is the number one choice for Australia's biggest companies with interests offshore but the bank is also making headway in providing domestic banking services to local clients. With a 32% share of the foreign commercial banking market, it remains number one in this category.
Best Investment Bank
UBS
UBS played a leading role in the lion's share of capital market transactions in 2003, pulling off some difficult equity raisings for AMP and introducing Aussie corporates to the Eurobond and US dollar markets. Its debt and equity capabilities are evenly matched and its broad clients focus unrivalled.
Most Improved House
Caliburn Partnership
A niche M&A player, Caliburn played in the big league in 2003, advising on just under 25 transactions worth nearly $6 billion, a five-fold increase on deal volumes recorded in 2002. Its clients include AMP, HBOS, Anaconda Nickel, OPSM and the Federal Government.
Best Equity House
Macquarie
The cleverly executed mega-float of insurance company Promina is reason enough to award Macquarie as the best equity house in Australia. The bank's role in close to 50 other secondary offerings, jumbo placements, selldowns, buy-backs and hybrids only confirms the title.
Best International Bond House
UBS
UBS continues to utilize its offshore distribution capabilities to take Australia companies and financial institutions offshore. The bank raised close to A$13 billion in senior and subordinated debt and bank capital for clients in 2003 - much of this in the Eurobond, sterling and US dollar markets.
Best Local Bond House
National Australia Bank
Consolidating its position as the number one underwriter of domestic bonds, National Australia Bank performed several groundbreaking transactions in 2003 including deals for Holcim Finance, Merrill Lynch, Westfield Trust and Rabobank. Unlike its peers, NAB's league table position was not supported by a self-led vanilla bond issue.
Best Securitization House
Macquarie Bank
In another busy year for Australian securitization Macquarie Bank once again excelled, advising on roughly one-fifth of all transactions in volume terms. Macquarie brought new asset classes and issuers to the market including the landmark A$330 million hybrid commercial mortgage-backed, whole-business securitization of the ALE Property Group in November - a first of its kind in Australia.
Best M&A House
Deutsche Bank
Acting as financial advisor to both buyers and sellers, Deutsche Bank's M&A team were pivotal in the sale of some of Australia's biggest assets in 2003 including IAG's acquisition of CGU, Xstrata's hostile purchase of MIM and AMP Shopping Centre Trust's sale to Westfield Trust.
Best Brokerage House
UBS
Holding the number one spot in terms of market turnover for the past two-and-a-half years, UBS controls 11% of all equity trades. The team is also strong in exchange traded derivatives, handling 15% of the 170,000 contracts traded each day on the Australian Stock Exchange.
Best Equity Research
UBS
UBS' team of 52 analysts covers 270 companies in Australia and New Zealand, and consistently comes up first in independent research, sales and execution surveys. Its top-rated analysts were the first to pick a turn in the fortunes of listed property trusts after a long period of outperformance.
Best Financial Law Firm
Mallesons Stephen Jaques
With the likes of Telstra, AMP and BHP Billiton on its client list, Mallesons is Australia's top financial law firm. The past 12 months saw the firm provide advice on close to 30 major transactions such as the Telstra share buy-back, the Westlink Motorway financing and the Burns Philp/Goodman Fielder acquisition.
Deal Awards
Best IPO
Promina, A$1.88 billion
Goldman Sachs JBWere, Macquarie Bank
The largest IPO in the Australian market since 1998, the Promina float was a stellar transaction completed just days after a surprise equity offering from AMP. The float generated A$6 billion in orders at the institutional final price, achieved a 98% conversion rate and attracted an impressive list of offshore investors.
Best Secondary Offering
ANZ Renounceable Rights Offering, A$3.6 billion
Citigroup, Morgan Stanley
ANZ completed Australia's largest ever capital raising to partially fund its acquisition of National Bank of New Zealand. The deal was completed on an accelerated timetable with the co-operation of three stock exchanges and included an innovative mop-up facility with shortfall rights being sold by bookbuild.
Best Equity-Linked Deal
Transurban CARS, A$430 million hybrid
Citigroup, Macquarie
Hybrids continue to attract investor appetite in Australia and in 2003 the Transurban convertible adjusting rate securities (CARS) transaction stood out as part of the overall financing of the Westlink M7 tollway. It was the first hybrid outside of the property trust sector to pay tax-deferred returns and to have institutions and retail bidding in unison.
Best Securitization Deal
Mirvac Finance, A$500 million multiple option presale securitization program
ANZ, Merrill Lynch
Drawing on both project and structured finance techniques this ground-breaking transaction allowed Mirvac to draw funding from multiple sources: medium-term notes, commercial paper and bank loans. The deal was a global first and would give residential property developers added flexibility in funding new projects.
Best M&A Deal
ANZ Bank's A$4.9 billion acquisition of National Bank of New Zealand
Advisers: Morgan Stanley adviser to ANZ Bank; Deutsche Bank adviser to sellers Lloyds TSB Bank
Burns Philp's A$2.5 billion hostile takeover of Goodman Fielder
Advisers: CSFB adviser to Burns Philp; Macquarie adviser to Goodman Fielder
ANZ Bank and Burns Philp share the title of best M&A deal in a year which saw some mega transactions in the Australia market. The former is praised for price and strategic importance, the latter for guts and ingenuity.
Best Local Bond Deal
Snowy Hydro, A$500 million refinancing
ANZ Bank, JPMorgan, Westpac
The inaugural bond issue for this electricity generator was hailed by investors for its tenor and innovation. The A$170 million unwrapped portion of the deal was the largest and longest BBB+ issue at the time, making way for others such as Stockland and General Property Trust.
Best International Bond Deal
Qantas, $450 million 10-year fixed rate issue
JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch
In a year dominated by offshore bank deals, FinanceAsia is keen to award an Australian corporate for their efforts. In June, Qantas received great pricing for long-term US dollar money, with the transaction being up-scaled from $350 million. At the time, it was the first airline credit to visit the US vanilla markets in 12 months.
Best Project Finance Deal
Westlink M7, A$2.23 billion debt and equity structure
Bank of America, Macquarie, National Australia Bank, RBS Australia, WestLB
The financing of the 40km Western Sydney Orbital tollway was the largest transport deal of the year globally and involved a judicious mix of equity and debt including A$1.25 billion in 15-year construction and term facilities, a A$196 million equity bridge facility, and A$980 million in equity.
Most Innovative Deal
Project Shearwater, a multi-tiered asset restructuring
Citigroup, Deloitte Corporate Finance, Goldman Sachs JBWere, Macquarie
In a wholesale reshaping of the country's utility landscape, Project Shearwater involved A$4 billion in assets and comprised a string of inter-connected transactions which allowed US energy company Aquila to exit its Australian interests while giving AMP Henderson and Alinta an opportunity to realise significant investments.
