Australia's Asciano faces a new legal hurdle in $6.7 bln buyout

SYDNEY, May 17 (Reuters) - A trucking company half-owned by
Australia's Asciano Ltd AIO.AX took the port and rail giant to
court, demanding assurance about its future under an A$9.1
billion ($6.7 billion) buyout of the parent company, a hiccup in
the long-running deal.
In a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, Australian Container
Freight Services Pty Ltd (ACFS) asked the Supreme Court of New
South Wales to make Asciano confirm its rights under Asciano's
plan to be bought by a host of global investors including
Canada's Brookfield Asset Management Inc BAMa.TO and China
Investment Corp CIC.UL .
The specifics of ACFS's concerns were not immediately clear
and a spokeswoman declined comment. Asciano said in a statement
that it will defend the action but a spokesman declined to
comment further.
The court set a tentative hearing date for May 31, the
Asciano spokesman said.
Although Asciano says its half stake in ACFS is worth A$36.2
million, just 0.4 percent of the value of its overall value
under the takeover plan, a legal dispute with a subsidiary could
create an obstacle for a deal that has already been beset by
delays.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has
already pushed back the companies' agreed deal timelines by
raising antitrust concerns. It is scheduled to give a final
ruling on the deal on May 26, but a legal snarl may cause
uncertainty for Asciano shareholders when they vote on the
proposal on June 1.
Asciano has previously said it does not expect the matter to
delay the deal.
Takeover documents sent to Asciano shareholders this month
said that under the breakup proposal Asciano's ACFS stake would
go to Brookfield but "it is possible that the other shareholders
in ACFS Port Logistics may have pre-emptive rights to acquire
the interest in ACFS Port Logistics".
($1 = 1.3587 Australian dollars)