b'Success in the Sunshine StateIn the mid-1990s the Queensland Government begangeneral meeting at the Brisbane Convention Centre. It reviewing options to privatise state-owned infrastructurelooked certain the deal would go through. Little did the and businesses. Among them were Queensland Industrialboard know, MacDonald was hovering in the wings, poised Development Corporation (QIDC) that started life in to present a revised offer that he and his team had been 1902 as the Queensland Agricultural Bank, and Suncorp drafting in a nearby meeting room on behalf of the that was previously formed from the State GovernmentQueensland Government. Halfway through the meeting Insurance Office. MacDonald approached Metway chairman Frank Haly to inform him that a higher offer was on the table. The The objective was to return equity to the government andmeeting was immediately adjourned.allow the two institutions access to private capital markets to fund growth and diversification, thereby securing theThe Queensland Government emerged victorious and future of these important Queensland financial institutions. the three-way merger between Suncorp, QIDC and Metway Bank became the largest corporate transaction Queensland Treasury appointed Ken MacDonald from Feezin Queenslands history. The $19 billion deal created the Ruthning to advise on the transaction, which involved thenations fifth-largest financial services group and Suncorp complex task of writing new legislation to bring theseMetway (as it became known) entered the ASX as one of government-run institutions into public ownershipaAustralias top 30 companies by market capitalisation.challenging undertaking when no one knew what formthe final entity would take. Queenslands premier, Rob Borbidge, declared, This is a tremendous day for Queensland. This is a real State of It soon became apparent that the best approach lay inOrigin win.merging Suncorp and QIDC with ASX-listed Metway Bank, Queenslands largest bank. This would add strength to theAt the time, Feez Ruthning partner Martin Kriewaldt was overall entity and ensure the resultant company remainedchairman of Suncorp. It was a sign of the governments trust firmly on Queensland soil. However, this proposed structurein the firm and in MacDonald that they had been appointed was complicated by the fact that Metway was already into manage this highly sensitive transaction, despite merger discussions with Sydney-based St.George Bank. Kriewaldts connection.Over several weeks, St.George and the Queensland Government (on behalf of a united Suncorp and QIDC)Treasury trusted the firm to maintain effective information continued to up each others offers in the quest tobarriers, and they were right to do so, says Kriewaldt. The amalgamate with Metway. first I knew about it was when I read it in the newspaper. On 26 June 1996 the Metway Bank board took an increasedIn 2002 Suncorp Metway changed its name to Suncorp.St.George offer to its shareholders at an extraordinary 208'