Canada's Brookfield Asset Management <BAMa.TO> has put the sale of its coal export terminal in Australia, the Dalrymple Bay Coal Terminal (DBCT), on hold due to travel restrictions amid the spread of coronavirus, two sources said.
Running a sale process had become impossible given current travel bans due to the global COVID-19 outbreak, the sources said, declining to be identified because they were not allowed to talk to the media.
Indicative bids submitted for the terminal in late February had valued it at over A$2 billion ($1.3 billion), one of the sources said, but the extensive due diligence and site visits required to continue a sale process would be too difficult to perform in the current environment.
Global stocks have tumbled recently as investors fear the coronavirus outbreak could push the world into recession.
Brookfield had also appointed investment banks in an effort to float the Queensland terminal on the Australian stock exchange, but the travel restrictions and market volatility meant investor roadshows would also be paused, the sources said.
A spokesman for DBCT declined to comment. A spokeswoman for Brookfield did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
(Reporting by Paulina Duran; editing by Richard Pullin)
