Chapman Tripp has advised Arvida Group on its $62m acquisition of three Auckland aged care facilities and a $35m capital raising, which included a $30m private placement that settled on Friday.
An
NZX-listed company, Arvida Group’s investors include All Blacks Richie McCaw and Daniel Carter.
The company announced plans for the acquisition of Aria Bay, Aria Park and Aria Gardens facilities last month, saying the villages had a strong care focus, 97 percent occupancy and further development opportunities.
The Chapman Tripp team was led by partner
Roger Wallis, assisted by senior associates Adrien Hunter and Nick Letham, and solicitor Briar Malpas.
“This is an important acquisition for Arvida as it marks its expansion into the Auckland market,” Wallis said.
“The aged care sector has been one of New Zealand’s most solid financial performers in recent years so the strong investor support in the placement comes as no surprise.”
The deal was complex as the villages were owned by two different syndicates, with around 18 vendors in each, he told
NZLawyer.
“To make the negotiations manageable, at an early stage the vendors held an investor meeting and appointed one of their number as their agent to conclude the transaction.
“Arvida also wanted to raise equity and settle, once the deal was certain, in a short timeframe so they undertook an underwritten placement, offered existing shareholders shares under a Share Purchase Plan, and also offered the vendors some equity, all under the Financial Markets Conduct Act "same class regime" reflecting Arvida's listing and compliance with continuous disclosure.
"It would not have been practicable to complete the deal in the timeframe achieved had a prospectus been required.”
In December 2014, Chapman Tripp also advised Arvida on its $80m initial public offering (IPO) and NZX Main Board listing in conjunction with its acquisition of 17 requirement villages for $329 million.
“From our perspective, Chapman Tripp was able to draw on the significant expertise we have in the retirement village sector across our offices to complete the due diligence and obtain various consents within a very short timeframe [for this deal],” he said.
