Infratil and the New Zealand Superannuation Fund have snapped up most of the stake up for grabs in the country's largest retirement village operator, Metlifecare.
Between them, they are buying nearly 37% of the company from Australia's Retirement Villages Group at $3.53 a share.
The fund lifted its stake in Metlifecare to 19.9% by purchasing 17% for $126 million, while Infratil picked up 19.9.% for nearly $148 million.
Infratil chief executive Marko Bogoievski says the company had been tracking the retirement home and aged-care sector for some time, but this is the first opportunity it's had to get a sizeable chunk at a good price. The transaction is expected to be settled on 28 November.
Mr Bogoievski says Infratil will say more about the Metlifcare purchase, as well as its own delayed share buyback, after its first half results are released in November.
FKP Property Group, the Australian fund manager of Retirement Villages Group, whose subsidiary is Retirement Villages New Zealand, entered into an underwriting arrangement with Goldman Sachs for its 37.7% stake in Metlifecare.
The fixed price for the more than 79 million shares in Metlifecare brings the total value of the transaction to $280 million, an 8.5% premium on the 30-day average weighted trading price of the stock.
