The NZ$20.2 billion (US$17.1 billion) New Zealand Superannuation Fund, Auckland, will purchase a 35% stake in technology services company Datacom Group from New Zealand Post for NZ$142 million.
Matt Whineray, New Zealand Superannuation's general manager, investments, said in an e-mail that an agreement on the purchase is conditional on approval from the Australian Foreign Investment Review Board, which is anticipated early next year. A New Zealand company with 4,000 staff members and annual revenues of more than NZ$785 million, Datacom has operations in Australia as well.
The purchase will add to New Zealand Superannuation's “other private markets” allocation, which came to roughly 2% of the overall portfolio as of Oct. 31. Funding for the investment will come from sales of the superannuation fund's global equities and fixed-income holdings, according to Mr. Whineray.
As of Oct. 31, New Zealand Superannuation allocated 60% of the portfolio to global equities, 9% to fixed income, 8% to infrastructure, 7% to timber, 6% to property, 5% to New Zealand equities, 2% to private equity, 2% to “other private markets” and 1% to rural farmland. However, those allocations don't take into account opportunistic “strategic tilts” implemented by the fund's investment team.
Mr. Whineray noted that New Zealand Superannuation's “flexible, opportunistic 'reference portfolio'” approach doesn't employ pre-set allocations to any particular asset class.
