Australia’s sovereign wealth fund Future Fund is leaning into further investment Down Under and is in advanced talks to take a stake in NSW electricity transmission company Transgrid, Street Talk can reveal.
It is understood Future Fund will snaffle a portion of the $C138.2 billion ($152 billion) Canadian pension giant OMERS’ stake in the asset. OMERS is advised by Barrenjoey Capital Partners and Future Fund is taking its counsel from JPMorgan. It’s expected to sign as early as this week and is subject to pre-emption rights over the stake being waived, sources said.
The deal comes as some of Transgrid’s shareholders struggle to digest the billions that the company must spend on building new infrastructure required to connect renewable disparate energy assets to the grid, as coal-fired power plants are phased out. Cbus and Aware Super sold down their positions, held via the Utilities Trust of Australia, last year.
Future Fund is preparing to invest in Transgrid at a time when it has faced pressure from the Labor government to consider three national priorities – housing, renewable energy and infrastructure – under its Future Made in Australia schemes.
Over in Canada, OMERS’ home country, pension fund giants have been dialling back investments overseas after underwhelming performance and, more recently, against a “Buy Canada” push emerging from Trump’s tariffs.
Read the full story tomorrow and more on the Street Talk page.
From the column
Kiwi dairy giant Fonterra’s maiden pitch for the IPO leg of its consumer business will target a raise of $1.5 billion to $2 billion. It is running a dual-track deal, where an auction is running in parallel with the IPO talks.BGH Capital’s investors are rolling in dough after the buyout firm completed a deal to exit well-known Melbourne French bakery chain Laurent Bakery Group for nearly $650 million.JPMorgan has poached Dragi Ristevski, a highly regarded financial sponsors banker who rose to Credit Suisse Australia’s co-head of investment banking before its demise two years ago.WA gold miner Black Cat Syndicatelaunched a $65 million equity raising, hours after Australia’s US tariff defeat made headlines and tanked the ASX. Equity raisings from listed companies are expected to be in short supply in the coming weeks.
In other news
Point King, Skip Capital secured a $111 million payday by selling premium cycle maker Factor Bikes.Independent expert says Northern Star paying top dollar for gold rival De Grey Mining in $5 billion bid.Barwon Investment Partnershas raised $150 million for its growing healthcare real estate fund.
The chart
Sources said the IPO leg of Fonterra’s consumer business’s divestment could seek to raise between $1.5 billion and $2 billion, given analysts estimate the consumer business to be worth between $3.5 billion and $4 billion.
