Leading global real estate manager significantly expands operations in Australia
LaSalle Investment Management (“LaSalle”), a leading global real estate investment manager, today announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement with Trinity Group and Clarence Property Corporation (the “Sellers”) to acquire Trinity Funds Management (“TFM”) for AUD 9.25 million (USD 9.9 million) plus the net assets of the business. There are a number of customary conditions to be met before closing, which is anticipated to be on or around 1 August 2011.
TFM is an Australian property funds management business based in Brisbane, with four funds and approximately AUD 650 million (USD 690 million) of assets under management (“AUM”). LaSalle’s acquisition of TFM will increase LaSalle’s Australian AUM (excluding public equity) to approximately AUD 1.7 billion (USD 1.8 billion) and its overall Asia-Pacific AUM (excluding public equity) to nearly USD 9 billion.
TFM’s funds will be rebranded with the LaSalle name, including the AUD 580 million (USD 620 million) open-end diversified core-plus flagship fund ‘Trinity Property Trust’, which will be renamed ‘LaSalle Australia Core-Plus Fund’. As part of the transaction LaSalle’s parent company, Jones Lang LaSalle, will acquire a 6.2% co-investment stake in this fund from entities associated with the Sellers.
Through the acquisition, LaSalle will integrate TFM’s 30-strong staff into its new Brisbane office, increasing LaSalle’s on-the-ground presence in Australia to approximately 40 staff. Brisbane becomes LaSalle’s third office in the country after Melbourne and Sydney. TFM’s CEO, Steve Leigh, will become Head of Australia for LaSalle and report to Philip Ling, LaSalle’s Asia-Pacific CEO. Steve will continue to oversee the TFM team in Brisbane and will be focused primarily on the funds to be assumed by LaSalle as part of the transaction.
Ling states: “We have spent a great deal of time working to identify potential acquisition candidates in Australia, as part of our business strategy to grow our competitive presence in a country where we foresee strong growth prospects. The acquisition of TFM represents the preferred near-term opportunity and entry point for LaSalle into the Australian market, providing immediate scale, visibility and profitability.
“The TFM platform has benefited from a significant restructuring over the last 12-18 months, overseen by the independent directors of the responsible entity, the TFM management team and the Investor Representative Committee. We look forward to working with the TFM team and investors to drive the performance of the underlying funds, and we see a significant amount of potential upside for the Australian business in terms of both expanding LaSalle’s presence in the local market and the potential to assist Australia’s institutional investors as they increasingly look to take advantage of international real estate opportunities.”
Leigh states: “The TFM team is delighted with the LaSalle acquisition and excited about the future prospect of working under the well respected LaSalle brand. The team has worked hard to completely overhaul the funds management operation over the last 18 months, and the fact that an organization of LaSalle’s calibre sees the platform as high quality is a testament to the team’s commitment and the results achieved. LaSalle’s acquisition of TFM is a perfect marriage of the existing independent board of directors and the management team with LaSalle’s brand, global network and deep resources. We are looking forward to the initial rebranding process and then gradually tapping into LaSalle’s enormous capabilities across the board. The Trinity Property Trust is well positioned with a number of projects underway and under consideration at the moment, and the LaSalle acquisition will only enhance our ability to deliver consistent outperformance on behalf of our valued investors.”
