Bookstore on the block; Future Fund lif t-off; Milestone’s Fantastic Five

Good evening,

We’re used to seeing Quadrant Private Equity and Next Capital go head-to-head on deals, not working to make money together.

Tonight, we have news of the founders of both firms’ secret investments in Australia’s biggest bookstore owner, QBD Books, and they’ve hired bankers to market it to potential investors.

And Quadrant’s Chris Hadley and Next Capital’s John White aren’t only the heavyweights involved.

Elsewhere, the Future Fund is poised for one of its biggest-ever paydays on a space investment that appears set to soar.

The Future Fund is one of space transport start-up RocketLab’s biggest institutional investors, and according to reports, is set to go public by merging with Vector Acquisition Corp, a special-purpose acquisition company, in a $US4.1 billion ($5.31 billion) deal.

Finally, we’re first with the news of which of the Asia-Pacific region’s biggest property companies has made the cut on Blackstone’s shortlist for its $3 billion-plus Milestone portfolio.

Happy reading,

Sarah Thompson, Anthony Macdonald and Tim Boyd
Street Talk Editors