Bids land for Rex | GemLife’s IPO pit ch | Kailo Medical flyer

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The long-haul sale process for Regional Express is finally preparing to land, 10 months after the airline collapsed amid a bitter boardroom feud and a misplaced ambition to compete against Qantas and Virgin Australia by flying popular capital city routes.

Binding bids for the carrier, better known as Rex, were due last week after administrator EY and its sale advisor Houlihan Lokey canvassed local and international buyers. The investment bank was hired in February, and is expected to declare the winning bidder within weeks.

Sources say New York-headquartered distressed debt investor Anchorage Capital Advisors is among the parties that submitted a proposal to buy Rex.

Read the full story tomorrow and more on the Street Talk page.

ASX-aspirant GemLife says it has a bigger pipeline than $815 million listed rival Lifestyle Communities, as it opens the books for its $700 million-plus initial public offering after locking in cornerstone bids last week.

The Australian sharemarket recorded its fourth consecutive weekly gain after US President Donald Trump said he would resume trade talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, which helped soothe concerns about the global trade war.

Click here for the latest equity market wrap.