(Bloomberg) -- Australian asset managers IFM Investors and ISPT, both backed by some of the country’s largest pension funds, are closer to completing a merger following months of talks.
IFM manages around A$220 billion ($149 billion) of assets globally across infrastructure, debt, equities and private equity, while ISPT manages about A$20 billion of Australian real estate investments.
“The ISPT board has notified IFM Investors that it has elected to support a binding offer made to ISPT and their unit holders,” IFM said in an emailed statement Tuesday. “The offer will be put to unitholders and shareholders of ISPT for a vote in the coming months.”
ISPT was founded in 1994 by three of the nation’s largest pension funds, AustralianSuper, Cbus and HESTA. All three also invest in IFM, alongside other large funds including UniSuper, Australian Retirement Trust and Hostplus. IFM last year said that a merger would recognize the funds’ complementary businesses and common shareholders.
Australia’s fast-growing A$3.9 trillion pension industry is showing increasing investment power. Awash with inflows of around A$2 billion a week, the sector is hunting for deals across all asset classes globally and domestically.
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