MELBOURNE - Shares in support services company Brambles surged yesterday as infrastructure firm Asciano and transport group Toll Holdings both were identified as holding Brambles shares.
Brambles jumped A$1.12 ($1.27), or 9.88 per cent, to A$12.46, on a volume of about 18.6 million.
Asciano said in a noticeto the Australian stock exchange yesterday that it had acquired a 1.76 per cent shareholding in Brambles.
Brambles said that since the announcement of Asciano's relevant interest in the company, Brambles had received from Citigroup Global Markets a response to a tracing notice issued by Brambles confirming that a separate holding of 5.1 million Brambles ordinary shares registered in Citigroup's name belonged to Toll Holdings.
"Brambles has sought to ascertain Toll Holdings' intentions with respect to Brambles," Brambles said.
"Toll Holdings has advised Brambles that it has no particular plan with respect to its Brambles shareholding but has declined to provide Brambles with any assurance as to its future intention.
"Toll Holdings has also stated to Brambles that Asciano and Toll Holdings are not working together."
Shaw Stockbroking analyst Brent Mitchell said it would be a big ask for Asciano or Toll to take over Brambles.
A predator for Brambles would probably have to offer more than A$14 per share for the company, which would value the target at around A$20 billion.
Toll and Asciano may just be taking stakes in Brambles to compel Brambles to consider some area of co-operation.
Mitchell said Toll and Asciano might just be astute investors who realised that Brambles was undervalued, so took stakes.
Asciano was spun out of Toll and listed on the Australian stock exchange in June. Asciano contains Toll's former ports and rail assets. The logistics assets and Toll's majority stake in budget airline Virgin Blue remain under the Toll Holdings banner.
