The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday edition that two major Australian institutional investors are competing with Canadian pension funds in a $1-billion bid for Information Services Corp (ISC), a leading real estate data service. The Globe's Andrew Willis writes that two sources say Queensland Investment Corp (QIC) and Macquarie Asset Management are in discussions to acquire ISC. In addition, the sources say Melbourne-based infrastructure fund Plenary Group is working with the Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec on a possible ISC bid. The sources say at least one other Canadian pension plan, the Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) is also bidding for ISC. OMERS already owns land-registry Teranet, a business that is similar to ISC. Teranet runs property registers in Ontario and Manitoba, while ISC covers Saskatchewan. OMERS bought Teranet in 2008 for $2-billion. ISC began a strategic review last fall after activist investor Plantro launched a campaign that pushed for sale of the company. Mr. Willis says the bidding war for ISC shows that global fund managers are ready to invest heavily in Canadian projects, a promising sign for governments seeking to fund large infrastructure initiatives.