Qatar, China in $6.4B battle for freight giant

Canada's Brookfield Asset Management is planning a fresh $6.4 billion bid for Australian port and rail firm Asciano with Qatar's sovereign fund, two sources told Reuters, widening the global battle for the haulage heavyweight.

The willingness of Brookfield to raise its offer and Qatar Investment Authority's (QIA) entry as a potential co-investor underscore the immense appetite for Australian infrastructure, especially mining-exposed companies whose share prices have been battered by the commodities downturn.

Asciano, which had a market capitalization of $4.3 billion a year ago, said on Tuesday it was dumping Brookfield's initial offer of A$8.9 billion ($6.3 billion) in favour of a A$9 billion bid from Australian freight rival Qube Holdings Ltd in concert with China Investment Corp. But the sources, who are close to the deal, said the Canadian infrastructure investor would join the Qataris and Canadian pension fund PSP Investments and raise its offer to A$9.05 billion.