Canadian fund joins bid on Aussie energy giant

Canadian investment juggernaut British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (BCIMC) is set to join the bidding on Australia's New South Wales (NSW) energy provider, Endeavour Energy.

The Australian Financial Review (AFR) reported on Tuesday that BCIMC has joined forces with Australian based Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets, in a bidding consortium advised by the Macquarie Capital.

According to Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), bidders were told late last year that no single foreign investor would be able to buy more than half the 50.4 percent of the available stake in the energy company. And almost half of the money must come from Australian domiciled investors.

The rules also strictly enforce that at least three senior managers of the company must be Australian citizens with required security clearances.

NSW's advisers, Deutsche Bank and United Bank of Switzerland, received formal expressions of interest on Monday, and are calling for first round bids in mid-February.

Endeavour Energy is the NSW's third largest electricity supplier, with assets worth roughly 6 billion Australian dollars (4.49 billion U.S. dollars), and services over 1 million consumers. Endit