Fund Company Update

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MIRA to acquire Vitalharvest Freehold Trust

Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) has proposed an acquisition of Vitalharvest Freehold Trust (VTH), a real estate investment trust worth $300 million. The proposed takeover is for a cash consideration of $1 per share via a trust scheme. Vitalharvest owns berry and citrus farms in three states which are leased to horticultural and fresh produce company, Costa Group, on a 15-year lease.

Vitalharvest made $10.1 million in net profit last financial year and had $285.6 million in assets under management. Primewest is the real estate fund manager. The agricultural arm of MIRA is in Australia, an active asset manager that owns and manages Australian farms.

WA Super updates on merger progress

Members of WA Super have been updated on the planned merger with Aware Super, with the transfer of solutions due on 3 December 2020. WA Super members will soon be members of Aware Super as of December 4.

Link Group rejects another offer

Link Group has rejected an offer by a consortium led by Pacific Equity Partners and Carlyle Group. The consortium increased its offer price on October 26, and after careful consideration, Link rejected the offer. Link representatives said the revised proposal wasn’t compelling enough, despite the group upping the bid from $5.20 per share to $5.40 per share via a scheme of arrangement.

Fortlake Asset Management launches

Four funds have been launched under the Fortlake Asset Management header, with an all-star ownership team behind it. Chris Baylis, a former UBS fund manager, with billionaire investor Alex Waislitz set up the fund with ASX-listed cash platform, Cashwerx. The four funds on offer are retail, wholesale and institutional. The four funds are:

  • Fortlake Real-Income Fund (for retail investors targeting 3% over RBA cash rate)

  • Fortlake Real-Higher Income Fund (for retail investors targeting 5% over RBA cash rate)

  • Fortlake Real Opportunities Fund (wholesale investors, absolute return)

  • Fortlake Sigma Opportunities Fund (wholesale, targeting 8-11% above the RBA cash rate)