Govt appoints Lazard for asset sale advice

The Australian arm of international investment bank Lazard has been appointed independent adviser on the Government's proposed partial sale of state-owned enterprises.

The contract win comes at the expense of local firm Cameron Partners, in partnership with international merchant bank Rothschild, understood to have also pitched for the role, according to a report in the Australian Financial Review.

Prime Minster John Key said the decision to appoint Lazard was made by Treasury independently.

"Obviously ministers don't get involved in the appointment of investment bankers for that process but I think it was to ensure it was somebody who had no skin in the game if you like, was completely independent," Key said.

If National wins the election, Lazard will be expected to provide independent advice to the Government on several aspects of the SOE sales, including the process for selecting lead managers for the initial public offers and critiquing advice from the Government's other sales advisers, which include Deutsche Bank and Craigs Investment Partners.

Cameron Partners has a history of advising governments on corporate deals, including the bailout of Air New Zealand in 2001. Principal Rob Cameron was head of Fay Richwhite's corporate finance division during the privatisation and float of Telecom in 1989/90.

The AFR said the contract was an important win for the ''grandfather of privatisation'', John Wylie, who heads Lazard's Australian advisory business after it bought his firm Carnegie Wylie in 2007.

Wylie was closely involved in the sale of Victoria's electricity assets in the 1990s. More recently, Lazard was involved in the sale of Queensland's 12.4 per cent stake in Brisbane airport.

Rothschild was an adviser to the Queensland government on the float of Queensland Rail last year.

The AFR said some would see Lazard as a controversial choice because its funds management arm, Lazard Asset Management, has an infrastructure fund that would be expected to buy stakes in assets sold by the government.

''That means Lazard will need to strictly manage any conflict, maintaining tight Chinese walls and processes between its advisory and funds management operations,'' said the AFR.