Global infrastructure and real estate
investment manager to join SLC Management
WELLESLEY, MA, NEW YORK CITY and TORONTO, Dec. 18,
2019 /CNW/ - Sun Life Financial Inc. (TSX: SLF) (NYSE:
SLF) today announced that it intends to acquire a majority stake in
InfraRed Capital Partners ("InfraRed"), a global infrastructure and
real estate investment manager. InfraRed advises institutional and
pooled fund clients on approximately US$12
billion (C$16 billion) in
assets under management as of September 30,
2019. InfraRed is headquartered in London, U.K. and has more than 175
partners and staff.
InfraRed will form part of SLC Management, Sun Life's
alternatives asset management business. The acquisition is integral
to Sun Life's strategy of broadening its asset management pillar by
extending the capabilities of SLC Management to the benefit of
existing and prospective clients.
Sun Life will acquire an 80% interest in InfraRed for
consideration that includes a closing payment of £300 million
(approximately US$390 million,
C$515 million). InfraRed's owners
will have a put option to sell their remaining interest to Sun Life
approximately four years from the closing and Sun Life will have
the option to call any remaining interest approximately five years
from the closing.
As part of the transaction, Sun Life has committed to co-invest
US$400 million (approximately
C$530 million), including general
account investments, to support the launch of new InfraRed
investment solutions. This co-investment provides alignment between
Sun Life and SLC Management's clients.
"We're excited to acquire a majority position in InfraRed, which
further broadens SLC Management's alternative solutions to now
include infrastructure equity," said Steve
Peacher, President, SLC Management. "InfraRed is a leader in
global infrastructure investing in both greenfield and brownfield
projects, including renewable energy. These investments have
historically provided the returns and horizon that institutional
clients are seeking."
Peacher added, "We established SLC Management in 2014 to develop
a line-up of fixed income and alternative strategies to help
institutional investors meet their obligations, similar to how we
invest our own general account at Sun Life. InfraRed's proven
investment capabilities in infrastructure are a natural extension
of SLC Management's solution set. There is also a strong cultural
fit between the two firms."
"I am delighted to announce this transaction with Sun Life and
SLC Management which enables us to drive the growth of our business
in the Americas, in particular the renewable energy market," said
Werner von Guionneau, Chief Executive Officer, InfraRed Capital
Partners. "SLC Management and InfraRed have complementary
capabilities, a similar culture of prudence and long-termism, and
proven track records of delivery."
von Guionneau added, "InfraRed has grown to become a leading
international infrastructure investor. To build on this success,
our ambition is to continually evolve so that we maximize the
potential of our capabilities and address the exciting market
opportunities we see in infrastructure overall and particularly
around the low carbon energy transition. This transaction is the
perfect way to do this and the InfraRed management team and I look
forward to working closely with SLC Management and Sun Life to
realize our ambitions."
The transaction is expected to close during the first half of
2020, subject to receipt of regulatory approvals and satisfaction
of customary closing conditions.
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP served as Sun
Life's legal counsel and Fenchurch Advisory Partners served as
financial advisors. Ardea Partners International LLP were financial
advisors to InfraRed and Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP served as
their legal counsel.
About InfraRed Capital Partners
InfraRed Capital
Partners is an international investment manager focused on
infrastructure and real estate. It operates worldwide from offices
in London, Hong Kong, New
York, Sydney, Seoul and Mexico
City. With more than 175 professionals, it manages
US$12bn of equity capital in multiple
private and listed funds, primarily for institutional investors
across the globe. InfraRed Capital Partners is authorised and
regulated in the UK by the Financial Conduct Authority.
InfraRed implements best-in-class practices to underpin asset
management and investment decisions, promotes ethical behaviour and
has established community engagement initiatives to support good
causes in the wider community. InfraRed has been a signatory of the
Principles of Responsible Investment since 2011 and has been
awarded triple A+ score in 2019 PRI assessment. Over the past 30
years InfraRed has, initially within Charterhouse Bank then at HSBC
and latterly independently, established itself as a highly
successful developer and custodian of core infrastructure,
renewable energy and real-estate assets that play a vital role in
supporting sustainable communities.
For more information go to www.ircp.com
About Sun Life
Sun Life is a leading international
financial services organization providing insurance, wealth and
asset management solutions to individual and corporate Clients. Sun
Life has operations in a number of markets worldwide, including
Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Hong
Kong, the Philippines,
Japan, Indonesia, India, China,
Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Bermuda. As of September 30, 2019, Sun Life had total assets
under management of C$1,063 billion.
For more information please visit www.sunlife.com.
Sun Life Financial Inc. trades on the Toronto (TSX), New
York (NYSE) and Philippine (PSE) stock exchanges under the
ticker symbol SLF.
About SLC Management
SLC Management is the brand name
for the institutional asset management business of Sun Life
Financial Inc. under which Prime Advisors, Inc., Ryan Labs Asset
Management Inc., and Sun Life Capital Management (U.S.) LLC in
the United States, and Sun Life
Capital Management (Canada) Inc.
in Canada operate. Additionally,
the SLC Management brand includes the investment division and
General Account of Sun Life.
BentallGreenOak is also part of SLC Management. BentallGreenOak
is a leading, global real estate investment management advisor and
a globally-recognized provider of real estate services.
BentallGreenOak includes BentallGreenOak (Canada) Limited Partnership, BentallGreenOak
(U.S.) Limited Partnership and the real estate and commercial
mortgage investment groups of certain of their affiliates, all of
which comprise a team of real estate professionals spanning
multiple legal entities.
As of September 30, 2019, SLC
Management's collective operations, including Sun Life's general
account, have assets under management of C$227 billion (US$171
billion).
Forward-looking information
In this news release (other than quotations), "we", "our" and "Sun
Life" refer to Sun Life Financial Inc. and its subsidiaries and
joint ventures. Certain statements in this news release are
forward-looking, including but not limited to, statements relating
to: (i) our growth strategies and strategic objectives, (ii) the
expected timing of the closing of the transaction, and (iii) other
statements that are not historical or are predictive in nature or
that depend upon or refer to future events or conditions.
Forward-looking statements may also include words such as
"achieve", "aim", "ambition", "anticipate", "aspiration",
"assumption", "believe", "could", "estimate", "expect", "goal",
"initiatives", "intend", "may", "objective", "outlook", "plan",
"project", "seek", "should", "strategy", "strive", "target",
"will", and similar expressions. All such forward-looking
statements are made pursuant to the "safe harbour" provisions of
applicable Canadian securities laws and of the United States
Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.
The forward-looking statements in this news release represent
our current expectations, estimates and projections regarding
future events and are not historical facts. These forward-looking
statements are not a guarantee of future performance and involve
risks and uncertainties and are based on key factors and
assumptions that are difficult to predict. The forward-looking
statements in this news release do not reflect the potential impact
of any non-recurring or other special items or of any dispositions,
mergers, acquisitions, other business combinations or other
transactions that may be announced or that may occur after the date
of this news release. If any non-recurring or other special item or
any transaction should occur, the financial impact could be complex
and the effect on our operations or results would depend on the
facts particular to such item and we cannot describe the expected
impact in a meaningful way or in the same way we could present
known risks affecting our business. Except as may be required by
Canadian securities laws, we do not undertake any obligation to
update or revise any forward-looking statements contained in this
news release.
Forward-looking statements are presented for the purpose of
assisting investors and others in understanding our expected
financial position and results of operations as at the date of this
news release, as well as our objectives for the transaction,
strategic priorities and business outlook following the
transaction, and in obtaining a better understanding of our
anticipated operating environment following the transaction.
Readers are cautioned that such forward-looking statements may not
be appropriate for other purposes and undue reliance should not be
placed on these forward-looking statements.
The following are transactional risk factors that could have a
material adverse effect on the forward-looking statements in this
news release: (1) the ability of the parties to complete the
transaction; (2) failure of the parties to obtain necessary
consents and approvals or to otherwise satisfy the conditions to
the completion of the transaction in a timely manner, or at all;
(3) our ability to realize the financial and strategic benefits of
the transaction; and (4) the impact of the announcement of the
transaction on Sun Life and InfraRed. These risks all could have an
impact on Sun Life's business relationships (including with future
and prospective employees, Clients, distributors and partners) and
could have a material adverse effect on our current and future
operations, financial conditions and prospects. Other important
risk factors that could cause our actual results to differ
materially from those expressed in or implied by the
forward-looking statements in this news release are listed in the
annual information form of Sun Life Financial Inc. for the year
ended December 31, 2018 under the
heading "Risk Factors" and other regulatory filings of ours filed
or furnished to Canadian and U.S. securities regulators available
at www.sedar.com and www.sec.gov.
Media Relations Contact:
|
Investor Relations Contact:
|
Rajani
Kamath
|
Yaniv
Bitton
|
Associate
Vice-President
|
Vice-President
|
Corporate
Communications
|
Investor
Relations
|
T.
416-979-6070
|
T.
416-979-6496
|
rajani.kamath@sunlife.com
|
investor.relations@sunlife.com
|
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SOURCE Sun Life Financial Inc.