New investor steps in to buy port

AN AMERICAN investment firm has swooped in to buy GeelongPort in a billion-dollar deal, just months after the competition regulator’s investigation scuppered a previous sale.

US investors Stonepeak will be majority owners with a 70 per cent stake after it joined forces with Australian superannuation fund Spirit Super for the transaction announced on the weekend.

The takeover bid was reportedly worth $1.1 billion, with the firms expecting to close the transaction “towards the end of the first quarter of 2023, subject to customary regulatory approvals”.

Stonepeak and Spirit Super will take over ownership from another investment consortium.

Spirit had been involved in a previous deal to take a 51 per cent stake in the port alongside Palisade Investment Partners.

That transaction collapsed after an Australian Competition and Consumer Commission probe into potential for a market monopoly due to Palisade’s interest in a port at Portland in south-west Victoria.

Stonepeak senior managing director Darren Keogh said he expected the latest GeelongPort deal to be a successful foray into the Australian market.

“As a high-quality landlord port with operations that are critical to Australia’s economy, GeelongPort is a natural fit for Stonepeak’s core infrastructure strategy.

“It is a highly contracted entity with strong barriers to entry and stable and predictable demand drivers, which we believe are even more compelling when coupled with the port’s meaningful opportunities for long-term growth through additional development to meet future import-export demand in the region.

“We look forward to working closely with the GeelongPort team to help further their objectives and invest behind this integral component of the Victorian economy.”

Spirit Super Chief Investment Officer Ross Barry agreed: “We are excited for what our investment will mean for the long-term growth of GeelongPort and pleased that members will now own a direct stake in one of Australia’s largest regional infrastructure assets.

“As the fund for hard working Australians, a key investment focus for the fund has been regional Australia, where we believe there is strong potential for long-term growth.”