New Zealand Super and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (OTPP) have sold a small stake in New Zealand’s largest pathology chain to Maori direct investment fund Te Pūia Tāpapa (TPT).

The TPT fund now owns about 4% stake in Asia Pacific Health Group (APHG), leaving NZ Super and OTPP each retaining 48%.

NZ Super and OTPP bought the chain that provides laboratory testing services to approximately 75% of New Zealand’s population for NZ$550m last year from Brookfield Business Partners.

“TPT has come in on the same price terms as we acquired it,” a spokesman for NZ Super told IPE Real Assets.

TPT was established in 2018 by 28 Iwi and Māori entities to create intergenerational wealth consistent with te ao Māori values. The $115.5m TPT fund co-invests in large-scale New Zealand businesses and assets and is a preferred partner of NZ Super Fund, which introduced it to APHG.

TPT Chair Paul Majurey said: “There are enormous changes happening in the health sector, with a focus on improving Maori health outcomes. As co-investors, we believe we can add significant value to APHG by deepening its understanding and ability to deliver for Māori communities across Aotearoa (Maori name for New Zealand).”

“The NZ Super Fund and TPT are both investors with long-term time horizons and similar investment philosophies, meaning our investment strategies are strongly aligned,” said NZ Super Fund Chief Investment Officer Stephen Gilmore.

This is the second co-investment made by and NZ Super Fund, following an investment into New Zealand’s largest heavy vehicle rental and lease company TR Group made last July.

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