Infratil has sold its cornerstone stake in Metlifecare for $237.9 million, generating an annual return of 15.5 per cent over the three-and-a-half years it held shares of the retirement village operator and developer.
Wellington-based Infratil entered into a block trade deal with brokerage Forsyth Barr to sell 42.4 million shares off-market at $5.61 apiece, it said in a notice to the ASX yesterday. Infratil bought into Metlifecare in October 2013 at $3.53, investing alongside the New Zealand Superannuation Fund. The sale price is a 7.6 per cent discount to Metlifecare's last trading price of $6.07.
"Infratil retains a strong set of organic growth opportunities in our newly established platforms of data infrastructure, renewables and eldercare," it said.
The company told investors last week it had $380m of cash before any divestments and was looking at "significant near-term opportunities" in those three sectors.
Last year, Infratil chief executive Marko Bogoievski said he didn't view the Metlifecare stake as a long-term investment but had been happy with its performance.
