The half-billion dollar number seems overstated, that was a theoretical market cap and doesn't imply that much money really changed hands. If I'm reading this

The half-billion dollar number seems overstated, that was a theoretical market cap and doesn't imply that much money really changed hands. If I'm reading this correctly Anchorage's actual takeaway was "only" about $100MM, since they retained 20% after the float, they then sold this off in the market. For those assuming Woolworths was duped I note they got a comparable amount. This suggests they gave up roughly 50% of the extractable value in return for not having to do any of the dirty work. The big losers are anyone who bought the float at list price and still hold it, and of course the taxpayers who are on the hook for "employee entitlements".