Sean Cole

About Sean Cole

Sean is an investment funds law specialist advising on funds-related investments, wholesale fund formation and funds-related mergers and acquisitions work.

Sean has a leading practice advising superannuation clients on all aspects of their domestic and international fund investments, co-investment, consortia participation, direct asset investments, secondary sales of fund interests, material outsourcing and advising on SIS Act compliance in relation to investment matters.

Sean also advises sponsors in the REIT and infrastructure sectors on wholesale fund formation, funds-related M&A transactions and change of trustee/RE and investment manager proposals.

Sean's relevant experience acting for Superannuation and institutional clients on their investments  includes advising:

• as lead Partner of Allens fund secondaries practices, advising on in excess of $2.5 billion of secondary sales transactions across 30+ fund LP interests spanning buyout, venture capital and growth, credit and infrastructure during 2021 (including the largest fund secondaries auction process for a Superannuation LP in the Australian market in 2021, which involved advising on a series of portfolio sales across private equity, infrastructure and property fund interests)
• formation of the Aware Super Real Estate platform in partnership with Altis Property Partners, creating a $1.5 billion portfolio of industrial, office and residential assets across Australia
• Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation as part of its participation in the consortia with Palisade and Spirit Super on its bid for Port of Geelong for A$1.2bn and as part of its participation in the consortia with Morrison & Co and Brookfield to acquire Uniti Group Ltd by way of a scheme of arrangement
• Hostplus on its investment alongside First Sentier Investors to acquire a 50% stake in Terra-Gen, a New York-based developer and operator of a portfolio of renewable assets across the United States and its indirect investment in Gatwick Airport
• HESTA – as part of the joint venture with Nuveen Real Estate and Eagle Street Partners to acquire Castleforbes Business Park in Dublin to develop a build-to-rent scheme with a gross development value in excess of EUR500m
• MLC Super on its co-investment in relation to the privatisation of AusNet Services and UnitiGroup
• Aware Super as part of its consortium bid alongside funds managed by Palisade Investment Partners for the Snowtown 2 Wind Farm
• NSW Treasury Corp (TCorp) in relation to the sale of its interest in International Parking Group to its co-owners Prime Super and funds managed by Colonial First Global Asset Management
• Superannuation LP investors on their investments into a range of domestic and international closed-ended pooled and co-investment vehicles, hedge fund and other alternative asset open-ended fund structures

In the real estate and infrastructure sectors, Sean's experience includes advising sponsors and A-REIT clients on fund formation and funds-related transactions, including:

• Investor Representative Committee of the AMP Wholesale Office Fund in relation to the Mirvac and Collimate proposals in relation to the management of the $8 billion AMP Wholesale Office Fund
• Plenary Funds Management on its change of manager proposal to the investors in the AMP Capital Community Infrastructure Fund
• Morrison and Co, Future Fund, Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation and Sunsuper on the acquisition of a 49% non-controlling stake in Telstra's Towers business for A$2.8 billion
• A fund managed by the Mirvac Group on the sale of the Travelodge portfolio to funds managed by Salter Bros and its capital partners GIC and Partners Group
• QIC on the establishment of co-investment vehicles in relation to QGIF’s $535 million acquisition of Pacific Energy Limited by way of scheme of arrangement
• Funds managed by Westbourne Capital on funds-related aspects of a range of infrastructure debt investments
• AMP Capital Investors (on behalf of its managed client) in relation to its acquisition of a 49.9% stake in Brookfield managed vehicles owning 50 and 60 Carrington Street, Sydney
• ISPT in relation to its acquisition of a 50% interest in 275 Kent Street, Sydney
• formation of the Mirvac Industrial and Logistics Partnership with Morgan Stanley Real Estate, including related logistics asset acquisitions and disposals