Cerberus eyes Chinese firm's Darwin port: report
[CANBERRA] US private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management is preparing a bid for the strategically important Port of Darwin, currently owned by Chinese firm Landbridge Group, The Australian newspaper reported.
Cerberus is readying a proposal to buy the 99-year lease from Landbridge at a price slightly above the A$506 million (S$421 million) the Chinese company paid for it in 2015, the newspaper said late Monday (May 26). Landbridge is possibly open to offers around A$1 billion, The Australian cited an unidentified official as saying.
The New York-based company has links to the Trump administration, with co-founder Steve Feinberg appointed to be US deputy defence secretary in March, The Australian reported. It said Cerberus declined to comment on Monday.
The decision to lease the Port of Darwin to Landbridge in 2015 was controversial at the time, with then-US president Barack Obama expressing concern.
Moves by the centre-left Labor government to bring the port back into Australian hands have ramped up in recent months, with Prime Minister Anthony Albanese pledging during the recent election campaign to potentially nationalise the important asset if a buyer could not be found.
China's Ambassador to Australia Xiao Qian warned Canberra in a statement released on Sunday to tread carefully in its decision-making around the Port of Darwin lease. BLOOMBERG
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