Westpac Banking grabbed market share and executed a diverse range of deals on its way to a stellar year in a highly competitive market.
The bank won 20 lead roles for a broad range of transactions, including corporate deals, project financings and acquisition loans across multiple sectors. It worked on a sole basis on as many as eight of these financings, totalling over A$3.7bn (US$2.7bn), and improved its market share from 2014, vaulting to the top of the bookrunner ranking for the Australian loan market, up from third position a year earlier and rising to second in New Zealand.
“The story this year is that Westpac has got its mojo back,” said Aziz Dean, who joined as head of loans and syndications in February after a long career with Citigroup. “This year, we have really come from behind and taken the leadership position in this market.”
Westpac picked its spots in the challenging mining sector, where borrowers face strong headwinds as commodity prices plunge due to softening demand from China. It was one of three underwriters on an acquisition loan of A$855m to back gold miner Evolution Mining’s acquisition of multiple assets, including the US$550m Cowal gold mine from Barrick Gold, the largest syndicated deal in the gold sector this year. The acquisition transformed Evolution from a junior miner to a mid-cap producer and Australia’s second-largest gold miner behind Newcrest Mining.
Westpac was the only Australian lender among the original arrangers of an inaugural US$1.5bn loan for South32, a spin-off of mining giant BHP Billiton’s aluminium and manganese units, a nickel and silver mine, as well as some coal mines in Australia and South Africa. The bank brought its experience to the deal, having led financings for every demerger of an Australian listed company in the past 15 years. Westpac, together with the other two bookrunners, successfully syndicated the loan to another 12 domestic and international lenders at a time when market analysts were doubtful about the long-term appeal of the assets.
The bank’s deal list also included a A$600m acquisition loan for services firm Programmed Maintenance Services’ takeover of Skilled Group where it was sole underwriter and bookrunner.
It also jointly led a £420m loan for Australian law firm Slater & Gordon’s controversial A$1.2bn takeover of the professional services division of UK-listed Quindell. The leads had to handle legacy accounting issues involving the target.
The bank was also a joint lead on the A$690m project financing of Healthscope’s Northern Beaches Hospital public-private partnership.
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