Brookfield Asset Management, a leading global alternative asset manager headquartered in New York with over US$1 trillion in assets under management, has agreed to sell its retirement living platform, Aveo, to The Living Company for A$3.85 billion in what will be the largest ever direct real estate transaction in Australia.
The Living Company, as The Weekly SOURCE revealed in May, is Scape Australia's new seniors living business. Scape Australia, the student accommodation operator, currently has a portfolio of 26,000 housing units in Australia. As part of the deal, Scape will bring its assets – including student living, Build To Rent and retirement living – under the combined brand The Living Company.
Scape Co-Founder and CEO Stephen Gaitanos led the transaction with Co-Founder and Executive Chair Craig Carracher, with sources stressing that one or both were at nearly every meeting between the two parties.
Brookfield acquired Aveo for $1.27 billion in December 2019 after a lengthy takeover bid, taking the company private. It invested $200 million between 2020 and 2024 as Aveo became Australia's leading retirement village operator. Brookfield announced in June it was seeking to sell Aveo for $3 billion before selling off its South Australian business to become an East Coast operator.
Aveo was shopped with a 3.4 million square-metre portfolio of 10,000-plus units in 65 villages, with more than 3,000 units in its pipeline.
Aveo CEO Tony Randello sent a letter to residents today informing them the sale would take place in July. "The Living Company endorses Aveo’s values and our commitment to kindness, care, respect and customer service excellence. In partnership with Brookfield, we have evolved Aveo over the past 5 years to be stronger than ever, and we welcome the opportunity to grow even further with The Living Company," he said.
"I want to reassure you that Aveo does not anticipate any changes to the day-to-day activity at Aveo communities. Aveo will continue to operate communities as usual, and the well-being and peace of mind of residents and Aveo team members continue to be our top priority."
Ruban Kaneshamoorthy, Brookfield Co-Head of Real Estate Australia, said, “Brookfield took a contrarian view when we invested in Aveo. We identified a challenged platform that owned great real estate and this allowed us to execute an operations-driven turnaround. During the past five years, in partnership with the Aveo management team, we invested heavily in the business and executed a business plan that moved Aveo from a platform with a lack of focus and direction to a high-performance, resident-first organisation that is well placed to take advantage of the strong demographic and structural tailwinds underpinning the growth of retirement living."
The sale includes the 15% holding Mulpha International retained of Aveo on Brookfield’s acquisition in 2019. Greg Shaw, CEO of Mulpha International Bhd, said, “The business has thrived under Brookfield leadership and an exceptional management team. This transaction will set the foundation for further growth supported by favorable macro tailwinds.”
