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Clayton Utz acts on the largest property deal of the year
Clayton Utz team has acted on what’s being described as the largest property deal in Australia this year to date – the sale of a 50 per cent interest in the iconic Rialto building in Melbourne.
Tony Zhang
Firms: Clayton Utz (Rialto Towers).
Value: $644 million.
Area: Real estate.
Key players: Clayton Utz partner Andrew Norman led the firm's team, which included special counsel Jerome Martin, senior associates Angus Roy and Nick Chan and lawyer Henry Matthys.
Deal significance: GIC and Dexus have formed a 90-10 joint venture to buy a 50 per cent stake in a 55-storey office tower in Australia from Kuwait’s St Martins Property for $644 million (€358 million).
The partners now jointly own Rialto Towers on Collins Street in Melbourne, with Grollo Australia, the company which originally developed the complex in 1986 and substantially redeveloped it in 2017 in partnership with the UK-based St Martins Property.
Mr Norman said the completion of the Rialto sale was a great fillip for the Australian property sector, and had shifted the thinking around what deals were possible during the COVID period.
“The property sector has been hit hard by COVID. There are not many Rialtos, but as restrictions start to loosen, a transaction like this can put some bounce right back into the whole sector,” said Mr Norman.
Despite the intervention of COVID-19, the transaction had run smoothly, with exchange taking place only six weeks from the date of signing of the heads of agreement (HOA) for the sale in late February.
“It is a credit to the parties and deal teams involved that we were able to achieve a successful completion within the timeframe we did,” Mr Norman said.
“Our client is very pleased with the outcome, and we’re pleased to have been a part of such a landmark deal.”
