Brookfield and State Super have sold Australia GeelongPort, the second-largest port in Victoria, to Stonepeak and Hobart-based Spirit Super for an undisclosed price.
Sources told IPE Real Assets the price was around A$1.1bn (€711m).
Back in January, Spirit Super had a 51% stake in a consortium, involving Palisade Investment Partners, which agreed to buy the port for A$1.2bn but ran into anti-competition regulatory hurdles. The consortium abandoned the bid and in August Spirit Super regrouped with Stonepeak for the transaction.
Under the new agreement, Stonepeak, on behalf of its managed funds and accounts, will hold a majority 70% interest in the entity and Spirit Super will have a 30% stake in GeelongPort, the diversified landlord port managing over A$7bn of trade annually.
Darren Keogh, senior managing director at Stonepeak, said GeelongPort is a ”highly-contracted entity with strong barriers to entry and stable and predictable demand drivers, which we believe are even more compelling when coupled with the port’s meaningful opportunities for long-term growth through additional development to meet future import-export demand in the region”.
Ross Barry, Spirit Super’s CIO, said: “We are excited for what our investment will mean for the long-term growth of GeelongPort and pleased that members will now own a direct stake in one of Australia’s largest regional infrastructure assets.”
Brookfield managing director of Infrastructure, Ray Neill, said: “GeelongPort has been an excellent asset for our investors since 2016, and it is continuing to perform strongly.
“Pleasingly, in October of this year, construction of the new dedicated facility for the Spirit of Tasmania concluded, and daily sailings commenced. This is a transformational 30-year contract for GeelongPort and will provide a significant and ongoing boost to the broader Geelong region.”
State Super CEO, John Livanas, said: “GeelongPort’s importance to the local and state economies, and its future potential, have been well recognised by the Consortium’s approach. We believe the agreement represents an excellent outcome for our members.”
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