The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA) has topped up its investment in Qualitas with an additional A$700m (€412m), bringing its total commitment to the Australian alternative real estate investment manager to A$1.4bn.
The investment, from a subsidiary of ADIA, will go to the existing Qualitas Diversified Credit Investments (QDCI). Qualitas’s co-investment in QDCI has increased from A$35m to A$50m.
Following the latest investment under a previously-agreed arrangement, Qualitas said an initial tranche of options issued to ADIA in August last year was now exercisable.
In that agreement, Qualitas granted options to ADIA under which ADIA may acquire up to 33m new shares in Qualitas, representing up to 9.99% of its issued equity.
ADIA would be eligible for the maximum equity interest if it commits further incremental investment mandates totalling A$1bn through additional Qualitas mandates.
Andrew Schwartz, Qualitas group managing director and co-founder said Qualitas has demonstrated rapid and consistent growth since its initial public offering in December 2021, growing funds under management by 80% “despite this being one of the most dynamic macro-economic environments we have experienced in our 15-year history”.
The additional commitment brings Qualitas’s total funds under management to A$7.5bn, of which 78% is in private credit and 81% is invested on behalf of institutional investors.
Schwartz said Qualitas now had A$2.3bn in dry powder ready to be deployed into the Australian commercial real estate sector to take advantage of the further dislocation in the financing market, as traditional financiers appear to continue to retreat, particularly in the residential and development sectors.
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