M&A

Brisbane-based law firm Cooper Grace Ward has lured a corporate law expert from K&L Gates to join its partnership.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission will not oppose IAG’s acquisition of RACQI, saying more established insurers will still be able to compete in Queensland.

Squire Patton Boggs has recruited a private equity specialist from Allens for its Sydney corporate practice.

ASX-listed MA Financial will acquire shopping centre-focused real estate investment manager IP Generation for $90.4 million.

Major industrial landlord Centuria Capital and US-based real estate investment manager BGO have joined forces to break into the tightly held Western Sydney industrial land market, buying out 45,000 square metres of warehouse space in an off-market sale. 

Building materials giant Boral has acquired the Wallan Concrete plant 45km north of Melbourne's CBD for an undisclosed sum, two months after its purchase of a Victorian sand producer.

The competition regulator will not oppose waste management company Cleanaway's $110 million acquisition of Citywide Waste, saying the tie-up was unlikely to substantially lessen competition for waste services in Melbourne.

Rio Tinto has signed a $430 million partnership agreement with Japan's Sumitomo Metal Mining Co. to fast track development of its copper-gold project in Western Australia's Great Sandy Desert.

Abacus Storage Kings has rejected a $1.9 billion takeover offer from a consortium of Ki Corporation, the family office of South African businessman Nathan Kirsh, and New York Stock Exchange-listed Public Storage.

Petrol giant Ampol has announced it is exiting the retail electricity market in Australia and New Zealand, divesting its assets to AGL and Meridian to direct its focus towards electric vehicle charging and renewable fuels.