Mr Viral
Lendlease CEO Tony Lombardo seems pleased with the capital recycling progress
Lendlease has agreed to sell its Capella Capital infrastructure arm to Japan’s Sojitz Corporation for A$235 million ($146 million), as the Australian real estate group continues to dispose of non-core lines as part of a business overhaul.
The sale will contribute roughly A$70 million to after-tax operating profit and add to the group’s A$1.9 billion in announced capital recycling initiatives, bringing total announced transactions to A$2.2 billion, Sydney-based Lendlease said Friday in an ASX filing.
As a developer, financier and manager, Capella has secured A$34 billion in project orders for hospitals, roads, rail systems and other social infrastructure. Sojitz, a Tokyo-listed trading conglomerate, will acquire Lendlease’s interests in Capella’s asset origination, asset management and principal equity investments, with 78 Capella staff to transfer with the sale.
“The sale of Capella Capital accelerates the release of capital while also reducing the group’s future funding commitments, allowing Lendlease to focus on its core Australian operations and international Investments platform,” said CEO Tony Lombardo.
Enhancing Expertise
Sojitz expects the Capella buy to strengthen its large-scale development capability in the energy, social and transport infrastructure fields and help cultivate specialised infrastructure personnel, the Japanese group said in a release.
Sojitz president Kosuke Uemura is building up the group’s infrastructure capability
Led by president Kosuke Uemura, Sojitz seeks to provide integrated services from project development to asset management, with the aim of expanding the model to regions with rapid infrastructure development such as the Middle East, Central Asia, Europe and the US, in addition to Australia.
Lendlease and Capella will work to deliver current projects with no impacts expected as a consequence of the sale, the companies said. Upon completion of the transaction by the end of June, Lendlease and Capella will continue to cooperate on current and future Capella projects where Lendlease has capability in construction or development services.
Also Friday, Lendlease announced the completion of its A$516 million ($320 million) sale of its US military housing business to American investment firm Guggenheim Partners. Lendlease said last year that it anticipated an after-tax operating profit of A$105 million to A$120 million on the sale.
“The announced Capella Capital and military housing divestments progress our strategy to simplify the group, as we work towards becoming less complex, more focused and ultimately more profitable,” Lombardo said.
UK Construction Exit
Lendlease is undergoing a business overhaul that the company estimates could free up as much as A$4.5 billion in capital.
Completed disposals include the sale of a half-stake in the group’s Asia Life Sciences unit to private equity giant Warburg Pincus in a deal closed last August. Later that month, the new joint ventures announced its acquisition of a S$1.6 billion ($1.2 billion) portfolio of Singapore business parks and R&D facilities from entities linked to private equity giant Blackstone and Soilbuild Group chairman Lim Chap Huat.
Earlier this month, Lendlease agreed to sell its UK construction business to US investment firm Atlas Holdings for £35 million ($43 million) in cash, including £10 million deferred until June 2026, subject to completion adjustments. The deal will finalise the exit from Lendlease’s international construction operations, well ahead of the targeted 18-month timeline announced last May, the group said.
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