Scape Australia is understood to be out of contention to buy Lendlease’s 25.1% stake in Keyton, with majority shareholder Aware Super (49.9%) reportedly blocking a deal despite Scape offering the highest price, according to The Australian.
The Lendlease stake – marketed by Gresham since 2022 – is valued at around $500 million.
Aware Super, which fully acquired Oak Tree Villages in August 2023, is said to have resisted Scape’s proposal amid concerns over external management fees.
The Australian reports Aware does not want to pay Scape’s management fee – understood to be about 0.5% – if Scape replaced Keyton’s incumbent team and took over operations.
Scape Australia, part of The Living Company, has been expanding in Australian seniors and living platforms. In June, Scape and South Korea’s National Pension Service $3.85 billion for retirement village operator Aveo from Brookfield Asset Management. Market expectations had been that Scape would manage Keyton post-transaction.
The Keyton sell-down caps a long reshaping of Lendlease’s retirement arm. Lendlease pioneered the sector for over 30 years and still operates 75 villages with 13,000-plus homes under Keyton. It sold 25% of Lendlease Retirement to APG for $450 million in 2017, a further 25% to Aware Super for around $460 million in 2021, and an additional 24.9% to Aware for $490 million in April 2024.
GIC – Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund and a major backer of Invesco, which bought RetireAustralia for $845 million from Infratil and NZ Super – remains a bidder for Lendlease’s Keyton stake, The Australian reports.
