2 weeks Ago By Varun Godinho
Superannuation giants UniSuper and Cbus Property (wholly owned by Cbus Super) have won a court fight to take over the entire Macquarie Centre mall in Sydney. As a result, real estate landlord Dexus will now have to sell an $830 million stake to UniSuper and Cbus Property. Macquarie Centre is one of the city’s biggest shopping malls and is worth $1.
7 billion. It is half owned by UniSuper and Cbus Property, with the remaining stake owned by a wholesale fund operated by Dexus. UniSuper and Cbus Property asked the Supreme Court in NSW to force Dexus to sell them its share of the property after arguing that Dexus had breached a contract.
Macquarie Centre was opened in 1981 and has long been owned by various AMP-related funds. The fight over the mall started two years ago amid the break-up of AMP’s crumbling funds empire. Dexus took over the running AMP’s stable of property and local infrastructure funds.
But the two superannuation funds claimed Dexus’ move on the AMP platform triggered a pre-emptive right for them to acquire the rest of Macquarie Centre. The two funds – whose 50 per cent ownership is called the Macquarie Retail Trust – claim they gained pre-emptive rights because the transfer breached contractual rules, according to the Australian Financial Review. Dexus alleged that Macquarie Retail Trust did not seek information about the ramifications of Dexus’ deal to acquire AMP’s real estate platform until four days after it was finalised.
The AFR said that Dexus was aware of the potential for pre-emptive rights as it was working through its deal with AMP, but was confident they were not triggered by the way the transaction was structured. Two months after Dexus-AMP deal was finalised early last year, Macquarie Retail Trust sent an unconditional contract for the purchase of its half stake of the mall for $830 million. While rejecting the deal, Dexus’ lawyers accused the superannuation funds of failing to act in good faith.
Cbus and UniSuper launched legal proceedings in the Supreme Court in November. Last week, the court found that UniSuper and Cbus did have the right to buy the rest of Macquarie Centre from the Dexus-run fund. A spokesman said that the super funds now intend to press ahead and buy the centre.
A spokesman for the Dexus Wholesale Shopping Centre Fund – which holds the 50 per cent stake of the mall – said the company was reviewing its options. “Dexus remains focused on working with the responsible entity board to deliver the best outcome for investors,” he added. The Macquarie Centre, situated 19km from Sydney’s CBD, houses more than 360 stores including the likes of JB Hi-Fi, Coles, Woolworths, Aldi and Kmart.
It is located adjacent to the Macquarie Metro Station and Macquarie University, in the heart of the Macquarie Park business park..
