Australia鈥檚 Future Fund and two superannuation funds have formed a consortium to buy a 49% interest in Telstra InfraCo Towers for A$2.8bn (鈧�1.76bn).
The consortium comprises the Future Fund as its largest investor, Sunsuper and the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation (CSC), and is managed by Morrison & Co.
A person familiar with the deal told 麻豆映画 Real Assets that the Future Fund would have a 50% interest in the consortium, while Sunsuper and the CSC will each have a 25% interest.
Telstra, Australia鈥檚 largest telecom group, retains a 51% stake in Telstra InfraCo an owner of around 8,200 telecom towers around Australia.
Telstra has also entered into a 15-year agreement (with the option to extend) with InfraCo Towers to secure ongoing access to existing and new towers.
Raphael Arndt, CEO of the Future Fund, said: 鈥淭he long-term growth potential and defensive cash flow profile of this investment is a valuable fit with our focus on diversification across the portfolio.
鈥淭his investment further strengthens our exposure to digital infrastructure and the long-term thematic of data growth.鈥�
Telstra鈥檚 chief executive, Andy Penn, said: 鈥淲e were approached by the consortium earlier in the year as they recognised the value of these assets and provided a compelling rationale to progress the transaction ahead of schedule.鈥�
Penn said Telstra鈥檚 objective in seeking a strategic partner had been to maximise overall value for its shareholders while maintaining control of the assets to retain 鈥渃ompetitive differentiation鈥� into the future.
Will Smales, the global head of private markets at Morrison & Co, said: 鈥淲e are pleased to have unlocked this transaction by presenting Telstra with a compelling strategic proposition that recognises the value of their high-quality network infrastructure assets.鈥�
Mark Bogoievski, CEO of Morrison & Co, said: 鈥淲e see future opportunities to develop both greenfield and in-situ assets, including 5G network deployments, to provide efficient and reliable access for all customers.鈥�
CSC鈥檚 CIO, Alison Tarditi, said: 鈥淭hese assets complement our existing digital infrastructure investments, including Australian data centres, as CSC was an early mover into opportunities to provide the infrastructure of the future.鈥�
Michael Weaver, Sunsuper鈥檚 head of private markets added the partnership would provide a strong, defensive investment opportunity in a sector 鈥渆xhibiting positive momentum鈥�, he said.
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