Good evening,

Xpansiv, the carbon trading infrastructure business last valued at $2 billion in the private markets after it abandoned IPO plans, is warming up potential backers for a cash call.

Street Talk understands Xpansiv’s C-suite has been testing the appetite for a primary raising. While Xpansiv is satiated on the M&A front for now, it is weighing a small round to fund growth spending, sources said.

In tandem, the company has been querying parties on whether they would be interested in a secondary sell-down from its register. Early soundings are at a 30 per cent discount to the last valuation, and the seller’s identity has not been disclosed.

The preliminary number has divided investors. One camp believes a 30 per cent discount is good enough to get a deal done. The opposing view is that it doesn’t come close to compensating for future dilution, should US private capital giant Blackstone exercise its option to convert its $US400 million loan into equity.

Of note, Xpansiv hasn’t formally launched the deal yet, although it flagged the primary raising in its December update to shareholders and has approached several parties in recent weeks.

Two years on from its abandoned IPO – talks for which started at a $2 billion odd valuation before being knocked down to $1.2 billion to $1.3 billion – there’s not a whisper of a second attempt at floating the company.

After vetting private equity proposals with US-based advisers, Xpansiv locked down Blackstone’s US$400 million entry in July. The PE firm has the option to convert all or some of its investment into Xpansiv shares at a US$1.4 billion post-money valuation, which – if it were to play out – would make Blackstone a significant Xpansiv shareholder.

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

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Eureka Group Holdings′ shareholders representing at least 27 per cent of the register are set to reject Thursday morning’s revised scrip offer from Aspen Group, in what is expected to sound the death knell for the Cooper Investors-backed bid.

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