AUSTRALIAN Retirement Trust (ART), the nation’s second-largest pension fund, agreed to take majority ownership of New Zealand energy distributor Powerco, the Australian Financial Review reported, without saying where it got the information.
The deal – expected to be inked this week – will see ART acquire a 33 per cent stake in the company in a move that will increase its ownership to 58 per cent, the paper reported. Dexus Group will still have a 42 per cent holding in the New Zealand power firm, according to the report.
Neither Australian Retirement Trust nor Powerco responded immediately to requests for comment outside office hours.
Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) announced in April it would sell Powerco, one of New Zealand’s largest electricity and gas distributors, according to the paper. The private company may be valued at around NZ$3.5 billion (S$2.8 billion).
Powerco supplies electricity and gas to more than 900,000 customers across New Zealand’s North Island. QIC first invested in the firm in 2009. BLOOMBERG
