Capitaland Investment Step Australia Presence A200 Million Acquisition

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CapitaLand Investment Limited (CLI) continues its expansion in Australia with the recent acquisition of Wingate Group Holdings’ property and corporate credit investment management business for A$200 million ($173 million) and an earn-out. This deal will increase CLI’s total funds under management (FUM) in Australia by 30%, adding to its existing $5.8 billion and bringing its total FUM in Australia to $8.3 billion. This is a significant step towards CLI’s 2028 goal of reaching $200 billion in FUM.

The decision to invest in Australia comes a decade after CLI’s previous board and management divested its major assets in the country to focus on faster-growing markets such as China. However, with the A$2.5 billion in funds currently under Wingate’s management, CLI saw an opportunity for growth and decided to commit up to A$1 billion to further expand its FUM in Australia.

Wingate is a well-established private credit investment manager in Australia, with a track record of more than A$20 billion in completed transactions. CLI had previously partnered with Wingate for its A$265 million Australia Credit Program (ACP) in September. This latest acquisition will not only enhance CLI’s access to institutional and private high-net-worth investors, but also enlarge its proprietary deal origination networks and increase its geographical exposure to Australia.

Paul Tham, CLI’s group CFO, believes that besides Australia, there are also promising private credit opportunities in other Asia Pacific markets, such as South Korea, India, and Japan. As CLI expands its geographical diversification efforts, Australia is a key focus market that offers significant potential for growth.

According to CLI, the Australian private capital market has grown 33% in the past 18 months, with assets under management reaching A$139 billion. By 2028, a commercial mortgage funding gap of A$146 billion is expected. With this acquisition, CLI will further diversify its portfolio, which currently includes logistics, business parks, office, and lodging assets across nine cities in Australia. As of September, CLI managed 34 logistics properties and business parks and four Grade A office buildings in Australia. It also owns over 13,500 lodging units across more than 150 properties through its wholly-owned lodging business unit, The Ascott.