Re: TasRail, ATN & Privatisation of NR & FC

["KaMaK" <mckinnon@interact.net.au>]

Further to my recent post

see - http://www.stuff.co.nz/inl/index/0,1008,485348a13,FF.html
"The two biggest shareholders in beleaguered rail company Tranz Rail are
looking to sell out.
That's sure to put more pressure on the troubled firm as it embarks on a
dramatic overhaul which will see staff numbers slashed and key assets put up
for sale.

Wisconsin Central Transportation told the New York Stock Exchange overnight
it had hired Deutsche Bank to advise it on selling its 24 percent stake in
Tranz Rail.

Merchant bank Fay Richwhite, which holds 14 percent of Tranz Rail shares, is
also looking to sell."

--and --

Transdev of France May Buy Stake in N.Z. Tranz Rail, Paper Says
By Victoria Batchelor


Wellington, Nov. 11 (Bloomberg) -- Transdev, a Paris-based transport
operator, may be interested in buying a stake in Tranz Rail Holdings Ltd.,
New Zealand's sole commercial rail operator, the New Zealand Herald
newspaper reported.

Wisconsin Central Transportation Corp. and Pacific Rail Ltd. said yesterday
they are considering selling their combined 38 percent stake in Tranz Rail
and have engaged Deutsche Bank AG as financial adviser. At Tranz Rail's
closing price yesterday of NZ$3.80, the stake is worth NZ$175 million ($70
million).

Transdev's Australian director Jean Pierre Soulie said the company is
considering buying the stake, even though ownership of a fully integrated
railroad would be new to the company, the paper reported. Transdev is part
of the Caisse des Depots-Developpement group, the paper said.

``We are very interest in looking at (Tranz Rail) from close- up and seeing
its profitability,'' the paper quoted Soulie as saying. The company operates
more than five light rail and more than 90 bus networks in Europe and
operates one of Melbourne's tram networks.

The paper said a local group, featuring port companies and headed by
Infrastructure & Utilities New Zealand Ltd., a New Zealand-based investment
company, has also been tipped as a potential buyer. Infrastructure &
Utilities already owns a 7.2 percent stake in the railroad.

(The New Zealand Herald, 11/11, p.E3 www.herald.co.nz)