MA Financial has acquired Australian property and fund management company IP Generation for A$90.4m (€53m) in cash and mostly in MA Financial shares.

Earlier this week, MA Financial confirmed media speculation that it was in talks to take over IP Generation, which manages A$2bn in retail and other commercial assets.   

IP Generation will be integrated into MA Financial’s real estate asset management platform, growing its real estate assets under management to around A$8bn and overall assets under management to more than A$12bn.

Following completion of the acquisition IP Generation’s founder and CEO Chris Lock will assume the role of head of core real estate at MA Financial and be responsible for the performance of the core real estate business and its funds.

Other shareholders of IP Generation -  Ingrid van Dijken, long-time IP Generation COO, IP Generation chairman David Blight and director Greg Miles  - will join MA Financial’s real estate asset management team in leadership roles.

IP Generation’s 29 real estate investment professionals will join MA Financial’s real estate asset management business.

Julian Biggins, joint CEO of MA Financial, said the integration of MA Financial teams would deliver significant synergies and scale benefits, deepening the company’s real estate platform with capability across origination, investment management, development and property management capabilities.

Lock said: “IP Generation and MA Financial have a strong cultural fit and alignment. We have known the MA Financial team for many years and believe the scale of the combined business enables us to deliver even better opportunities and investment returns to all our clients in the future.” 

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