Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC) is participating in Elanor Investors Group’s purchase of Challenger’s A$3.4bn (€2.1bn) Australian real estate fund management platform.

ASX-listed Elanor said it had secured the transfer of the ADIC mandate as part of the acquisition.

The Sydney-based boutique fund manager entered an agreement to buy the Challenger real estate business in April, and simultaneously unveiled a strategic partnership with Challenger, an Australian financial services group.

Under the earlier arrangement, Challenger would have been issued 27.4m Elanor securities, equating to an interest of up to 18.2%, to become Elanor’s largest shareholder.

With the investment from ADIC, Elanor said Challenger’s holding would be revised to 13.7%.

Post-transaction, ADIC, the investment arm of the Government of Abu Dhabi, would hold a 3% interest in Elanor, with an option to lift the stake to 7.7%.

“The options vesting milestones are linked to ADIC committing a further A$500m in assets under management (mandate to Elanor),� said the company.

Elanor’s chief executive officer, Glenn Willis, said: “We are pleased to have secured transfer of the ADIC mandate, and ADIC becoming a substantial investor in ENN (Elanor). 

“We look forward to delivering strong investment returns for ADIC’s real estate investments, and growing AUM for the Elanor Group.�

Last August, ADIC’s sister organisation, Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, bought into a Melbourne-based alternative asset manager, Qualitas, potentially owning up to a 10% interest in the firm.

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