Dexus is acquiring an initial 28.5% stake in Heathley Asset Management, a company responsible for managing around AUD600m (€369m) worth of private hospitals and medical centres in Australia.
The Australian-listed property group said it will initially buy the stake in Heathley and will have an option to acquire a further 21.5% interest in the future.
Dexus will also take up a cornerstone stake of 10%, with a board seat, in the proposed initial public offering of the Heathley Healthcare REIT.
For Dexus it will be a modest investment of AUD37.3m, but a source said it will give it a strategic interest in the listed Heathley vehicle.
Dexus - which launched its Dexus Healthcare Wholesale Property Trust last year - will use the partnership with Heathley to make deeper inroads into the Australian healthcare sector.
It is currently undertaking a second capital raise to fund pipeline projects which, if successfully acquired, would take HWPF’s funds under management to around AUD830m on completion.
Dexus chief executive officer, Darren Steinberg said: “Our investment in Heathley complements our existing healthcare fund strategy.”
“It is a logical extension to our funds management platform, providing access to strong customer relationships in the sector,” he said.
Heathley chief executive officer, Andrew Hemming, said the partnership with Dexus will support his company in executing its growing pipeline of projects.
