Ampol Limited (ASX:ALD (Caltex) and its bankers have turned their attention once again to finding a passive investor for a stake in the group's petrol station properties. It is understood Caltex and UBS went back to the interested parties this week and asked them to reconfirm their interest, before a more formal auction. They were told that up for grabs, once again, is a 49% stake in 250 petrol station sites owned and run by Caltex.
It plans to retain the other 51% and write long-term leases against the property portfolio. In terms of interested parties, there are a couple of obvious places to start the sale. Charter Hall Group (ASX:CHC) and APN Property Group Limited (ASX:APD) both own petrol stations in their listed REIT offshoots and both have access to investor capital should they wish to strike again.
It is understood they were both interested when Caltex set off to pursue a property transaction late in year 2019 and are expected to line up again. Waypoint REIT Limited (ASX:WPR) (Viva Energy REIT) itself is another potential buyer.