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Highlights
- Canadian investment biggie Brookfield is reportedly seeking to acquire La Trobe Financial.
- Brookfield wants to takeover La Trobe’s majority stake held by the Blackstone Group.
- Investment interest in the Australian credit provider reflects well on the Australian markets.
Canadian investment giant Brookfield Asset Management is reportedly seeking to acquire Australian La Trobe from US-based Blackstone. As per reports, Blackstone might sell its majority stake in credit management company La Trobe Financial to Brookfield Asset Management Inc. The acquisition is expected to be worth around AU$1.6 billion. Brookfield was recently in the news for its AGL Energy acquisition offer.
Blackstone’s investment in La Trobe Financial
La Trobe is a recognisable name in the Australian credit asset management sector. Its business has a history of managing credit for about seven decades and La Trobe Financial has financed more than AU$34 billion of investment for over a hundred-thousand customers.
Stakeholders in La Trobe Financial include global institutions like Blackstone, major Australian banks, fund managers, family offices and other retail investors. Reportedly, Blackstone holds an 80% stake in La Trobe Financial since 2017. Melbourne-based La Trobe is in fact a portfolio company of the US- based Blackstone Group, known for expertise in credit and property investments. As of date the company has about AU$13 billion worth of assets under management.
La Trobe’s business has won awards and is recognised in Australia for its Housing finance business.
Brookfield’s interest in La Trobe
Brookfield is a Canadian investment biggie and is known for its renewable energy investments worldwide. Brookfield was recently in news for an acquisition offer made to AGL Energy which was rejected by the energy major.
As per media reports, Brookfield’s latest investment interest is the majority stake in La Trobe held by Blackstone. Blackstone is yet another globally recognised investment business from the North American continent. It is known for its billion-dollar private equity investments in Infrastructure, real estate and credit solution providers. La Trobe Financial from Australia is a part of its globally diversified investment portfolio.
However, now Brookfield is reportedly showing an interest in acquiring La Trobe from Blackstone. The reports are yet not confirmed as neither majority stakeholder Blackstone nor owner Mr O’Neil have issued any statements to the media regarding the deal. Meanwhile as per reports, those who know about it believe that the acquisition discussion is at an advanced stage already.
Bottom line
Non-bank lenders in Australia like La Trobe seem to be attracting interest from abroad, reflecting a positive sentiment towards the sector too. The acquisition interest by Brookfield in La Trobe also reflects on the potential of the credit management business. Inflow of foreign money and interest in the Australian financial sector seems to be getting a push from businesses like La Trobe which have raised capital even during tough times like the Covid pandemic peak.
