Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer advises UniSuper on tax aspects of its acquisition of Qube

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer (HSF Kramer) is pleased to have provided tax advice to superannuation fund UniSuper in relation to its participation in the A$11.7 billion acquisition of all the shares in Qube Holdings Limited (Qube) as part of a consortium led by Macquarie Asset Management.

UniSuper is an existing shareholder in ASX-listed Qube, which is Australia’s largest provider of ports and terminal infrastructure assets.

The super fund and its co-investors will support Qube’s management team to drive further growth and resilience in the business, with a focus on investing across Qube’s 200 sites in Australia, New Zealand and South-East Asia, as well as new opportunities across the Asia Pacific region.

John Pearce, chief investment officer at UniSuper, said, “Investing in Qube is ultimately a bet on Australia so we are delighted to continue as a significant shareholder.”

The HSF Kramer team was led by Tax partner Ryan Leslie, with support from partner Nick Heggart, Senior Associate Naison Seery and solicitor Jeneesha Fernando.

Ryan said, "It was great to work with the UniSuper team on this transaction, which is an important investment in Australian infrastructure."

The transaction is subject to customary conditions and regulatory approvals.

This is the latest example of HSF Kramer's market-leading work in taxation. Other recent examples include advising:

• Apiam Animal Health on its acquisition by Adamantem Capital
• One Investment Management on its proposed A$3.3 billion acquisition of Insignia Financial
• The ad hoc noteholder group on the financial restructuring of InfraBuild’s 14.5000% Senior Secured Notes 
• EnergyAustralia on its development of a 350 MW/1400 MWh battery energy storage system in Latrobe Valley