Australia’s Future Fund and Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC), the investment arm of the Queensland state government, have bought the EastLink toll road network from New Zealand Superannuation and the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America.
EastLink holds 19.8% interest in Connect East Group, owner of the largest toll road network in the state of Victoria.
Future Fund and QIC announced the acquisition in a joint statement on June 6. The value of the deal was not disclosed.
Future Fund Chief Investment Officer Ben Samild says this is the sovereign wealth fund’s first direct investment in an Australian toll road and is in line with its strategy to seek more local dollar exposure.
“Infrastructure assets such as EastLink provide reliable long-term returns and help to protect the portfolio from sustained higher inflation and interest rates,” he says in the statement.
Melbourne-based Future Fund had over A$223 billion (US$148.71 billion) of assets under management, including A$21 billion of infrastructure assets, as of March 2024.
Brisbane-headquartered QIC has A$111 billion of total assets.
