Growthpoint Properties Australia, an offshoot of the South African property investment group of the same name, has agreed to acquire Fortius Funds Management for A$45m (€31m).
ASX-listed GrowthPoint has agreed to pay an additional A$10m earnout component, subject to Sydney-based boutique fund manager Fortius achieving agreed milestones.
The acquisition will inject A$1.9bn third-party funds under management into GrowthPoint, lifting its total assets under management to A$9.2bn. Fortius’ global investors include BlackRock, Heitman and PGIM Real Estate.
Under the agreement, Ray Sproats, who founded Fortius will remain as senior adviser for at least two years and CEO Sam Sproats will join GrowthPoint’s executive management team as executive director – funds management.
Ray Sproats and his son, Sam, said joining Growthpoint was “an ideal outcome” as the merger provided the best path to meet the growth aspirations of its investors.
Timothy Collyer, managing director of Growthpoint, said: “We intend to grow the funds management business, targeting 10-20% of group EBIT (earnings before interest and tax) over the medium term, delivering incremental growth to earnings and income stream diversification for our securityholders.
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