Infratil and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund announced on Dec. 31st the completion of the acquisition of RetireAustralia, each partner acquiring a 50% stake.

RetireAustralia is a leading operator in the retirement living sector in Australia, with over 3,700 independent living units and apartments across 28 villages in NSW, SA and QLD. It is the largest privately-held pure-play retirement operator in Australia and has an experienced management team headquartered in Brisbane.

The total consideration was A$640.2 million with Infratil and the NZ Super Fund providing total cash equity of A$429.5 million (A$214.8 million each) with the balance being funded by existing bank debt on RetireAustralia's balance sheet. The consideration included estimated transaction costs of A$23.5 million (primarily stamp duty) and is subject to the usual completion adjustments for working capital and net debt.

The RetireAustralia investment will be managed by investment management firm H.R.L. Morrison & Co on behalf of Infratil and the NZ Super Fund. Wellington based H.R.L. Morrison & Co has held a NZ Super Fund investment mandate since 2006.

Infratil and the NZ Super Fund have worked successfully together before, purchasing the downstream assets of Shell New Zealand (now Z Energy) in 2010. This investment was also managed by H.R.L. Morrison & Co.