Investa Property Group is in final stages of consultation with unit holders of Investa Commercial Property Fund, or ICPF, over a strategic alliance with an unnamed institutional investor for the Investa management platform.
At the same time, ICPF said it is reviewing Blackstone Group LP's proposal to take over Investa Office Fund, or IOF, through a A$3.14 billion trust scheme. ICPF is the biggest shareholder of IOF.
Macquarie Capital (Australia) Ltd., which serves as ICPF's financial adviser in relation to Blackstone's A$5.25 per-unit IOF offer, was reported by The Australian Financial Review and The Australian as the unnamed institutional partner. If pursued, the partnership will allow the investment bank to return to the property funds management sector, both papers reported May 29 and May 30, respectively.
Investa Wholesale Funds Management Ltd., the responsible entity for ICPF, noted in a release that there is no certainty that the ongoing negotiations will lead to a transaction. It also added that if the alliance pushes through, it will not affect the platform's daily operations or the capacity of IOF's manager to pursue the Blackstone takeover.
IOF and ICPF are part of the Investa platform that Morgan Stanley Real Estate exited in 2016. IOF has since agreed to, failed at and rejected buyout offers from Dexus, Mirvac Group and Cromwell Property Group and even ICPF.
