Macquarie Group Ltd (ASX: MQG) is down 0.17% at time of writing, having given back some small early morning gains.
The S&P/ASX 200 Index (ASX: XJO), meanwhile, is in the green, up 0.56%.
Macquarie shares are in the spotlight today with fresh news breaking that the company is a frontrunner to takeover to become a joint venture partner with VicRoads.
What's happening with VicRoads' joint venture?
Victoria's government revealed its intentions to take on a joint venture partner for VicRoads back in March.
VicRoads is a segment of Victoria's Department of Transport. The successful partner will take over VicRoads' registration, licensing, and custom plates services.
As The Motley Fool reported on 22 September, the Victorian government said:
The privatisation of the registry segment would provide a more user-friendly and cost-effective service. It will also allow the government to continue to control prices, road access, and safety without affecting jobs at VicRoads.
Companies were able to report their expressions of interest in September. And that's when rumours first emerged that Macquarie was looking to become the joint venture partner.
While VicRoads isn't meant to decide on the successful bidder until Q1 2022, news broke today that Macquarie remains a front runner in the process.
According to The Australian, "The contest for the $2bn-plus Victoria motor registry unit VicRoads … is shaping up as a shootout between Macquarie Group and Morrison & Co."
Morrison & Co is a private alternative asset manager with a strong focus on infrastructure and property investment.
While final bids aren't due until the latter part of the first quarter of 2022, The Australian reported that it understands "Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets with Aware Super, advised by Gresham and Macquarie Capital" made their initial bid on Tuesday.
As was the case in September, Morrison & Co remains its chief competition. "Brookfield is believed to be teaming up with Morrison & Co as a contender, taking advice from Barrenjoey Capital Partners."
How have Macquarie shares been performing?
Macquarie shares have well-outpaced the benchmark over the past 12 months, gaining 46% compared to the 9% gain posted by the ASX 200.
Over the past month the Macquarie share price is up 2%.
