Cerberus Capital Management eyes Austal takeover, has Citi on board

Cerberus Capital Management, the $US60 billion ($88 billion) alternative asset investor, has tapped bankers at Citi as it considers a bid for ASX-listed shipbuilder Austal, Street Talk has confirmed. The New York-listed private equity fund is no stranger to Australia, recruiting former Macquarie and CVC Capital operative David McWilliam as its country head in 2019. Since then, it has poured money into a $1 billion logistics and industrial property vehicle run by Arrow Capital Partners and acquired Westpac's vendor finance business for $600 million. Run by billionaire investor Steve Feinberg, Cerberus has become increasingly interested in defence-exposed assets. Last year,…