M&A deal sets new retail property record
AMP Capital Finance, UniSuper, and Cbus Property have set a new retail property record with their acquisition of two shopping malls in Queensland and Sydney.
Firm: Norton Rose Fulbright (AMP Capital Finance, UniSuper, and Cbus Property).
Value: $2.2 billion.
Area: M&A.
Key players: The lead partners were head of corporate M&A Bryan Pointon and head of real estate Michael French. They were supported by partners Michael McKee, Frances Drummond, Rebecca Hoare, Marshall Bromwich, Stephen Iu, Jon Ireland, Greg Reinhardt, and Vittorio Casamento, as well as their respective teams.
Deal significance: The acquisition sets a new retail property record in Australia and saw UniSuper, Cbus Property, and the AMP Capital Finance purchase 100 per cent of the units in the AMP Capital Retail Trust from CPPIB, Harina (Abu Dhabi Investment Authority), and the AMP Life Property Fund.
Fifty per cent of Macquarie Centre and 80 per cent of Pacific Fair centres are now owned by the group.
Mr Pointon said: “The Australian M&A market is booming, and that is particularly evident in the real estate sector. This significant real estate transaction is notable not just for its size but also for the fact that it was successfully completed in a period of significant disruption to the retail property market caused by COVID-19.
“We are pleased to have been able to bring a cross-discipline team to successfully support buyers AMP Capital Finance, UniSuper, and Cbus Property to complete this deal in a tight timeframe.”
Lauren Croft
Lauren is a journalist at Lawyers Weekly and graduated with a Bachelor of Journalism from Macleay College. Prior to joining Lawyers Weekly, she worked as a trade journalist for media and travel industry publications and Travel Weekly. Originally born in England, Lauren enjoys trying new bars and restaurants, attending music festivals and travelling. She is also a keen snowboarder and pre-pandemic, spent a season living in a French ski resort.