Asciano Ltd, Australia's biggest port and rail operator, said a private equity consortium led by Texas Pacific Group (TPG) may seek further discussions with the company after being rebuffed on a A$2.9 billion ($1.9 billion) approach earlier this year.

Asciano is trying to sell assets to help pay down debt and fund growth after spurning a tentative offer worth A$4.40 a share from TPG Capital and Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP) in August. That offer was described at the time as "indicative" and "non-binding". However, at that point of time Asciano told its suitors the non-binding indicative offer was not high enough.

The company said TPG and GIP had contacted the company on Monday this week and may seek to have further discussions in the future, but nothing had been agreed.

"The board absolutely believes that the current market price of Asciano securities in no way reflects the underlying value of Asicano's businesses, in the same way that the indicative offer from TPG and GIP failed to recognize that true value," vhairman Tim Poole said in remarks prepared for Asciano's annual meeting.

Commenting on the earlier offer, he said, ''Our sense at the time, back in August, was that they had done a reasonable amount of work on Asciano and that they would continue to be interested in our business. But most private equity firms don't do hostile transactions. They like to work with companies, and my sense of the discussion is that they like to have a friendly dialogue with us. And that's where we left it.''

Asciano shares jumped 4 per cent to A$2.81, defying a 1.8 per cent fall in the broader market. But its shares have fallen 61 per cent so far this year, nearly twice as much as the broader market.

"We're living in unusual times and our job is not to react to short-term movements in the stock price," Poole told reporters after Asciano's annual general meeting yesterday. "Our job is to look through to the medium to long-term value of our assets and we think that the medium to long-term value of these assets is north of A$4.40.'' However, he did admit, ''the board is acutely aware of and extremely concerned by the fall in the market price of Asciano securities.''

Poole remained confident about the group's longer term prospects, although he warned that the slowing Australian economy would cut the double-digit growth rates the company has had in its automotive and container stevedoring businesses.

"If we combine the organic growth we expect with the new growth opportunities we have secured and move to a more acceptable capital structure, there is no doubt in my mind that Asciano will be able to turn around its poor trading performance to date and prove to be a valuable investment," he said.

Asciano, spun out of logistics group Toll Holdings last year, gave no forecast for earnings growth for the year to June 2009. Managing Director Mark Rowsthorn said expectations for 2009 remained on track, but any drop in consumer spending over Christmas would affect the group's full-year performance.