Kelsian homes in on $500m US deal | Macquarie loads up for crack at Endeavour Energy stake | Mercury Capital checks back into health

Good evening,

It promises to be a long night of market watching for Australian small-cap Kelsian Group and its underwriter Macquarie Capital, with the group expected to be out with a $300 million equity deal on Wednesday morning.

Kelsian will ask new and existing shareholders to help fund its entry into the US, via its $500 million-odd acquisition of charter bus company All Aboard America! Holdings.

Thoughts on the acquisition aside – we’re yet to see the presentation – there would have to be a few nerves in the Kelsian camp, given a soft day on the ASX, turmoil in bond markets and the potential for a sell-off in the US on Tuesday night.

So we’ll be waiting eagerly to see where the deal lands come Wednesday.

Elsewhere, Macquarie Asset Management appears to be gearing up for a crack at Rest’s up-for-sale stake in Endeavour Energy, while we’ve also found a new acquisition at Mercury Capital.

Happy reading,
Anthony Macdonald, Sarah Thompson and Kanika Sood
Street Talk editors