Westpac Banking CorporationandCharter Hall Group have entered into exclusive discussions regarding Westpac’s proposed sale of Hastings Management ProprietaryLimited (Hastings).

Hastings is a global infrastructure real assets business which has operated for over 22 years, headquartered in Australia with offices in Melbourne, Sydney, London, New York and Asia. Hastings currently has Funds under Management of approximately US$14.3 billion managed by approximately 100 professionals.

Charter Hall Group says the purchase of Hastings will expand their already large portfolio.

Any binding arrangements in relation to the proposed sale and purchase remain subject to completion of due diligence, regulatory and board approvals. Further updates will be provided following the outcome of negotiations between the two parties.

As we reported in April, Hastings won an infrastructure debt investment mandate from the Development Bank of Japan Inc. and DBJ Asset Management Co., Ltd (collectively DBJ Group), targeting investments in OECD countries.

This mandate added to the success of Hastings’ infrastructure debt business which has shown strong growth with AUD3 billion (US$2.23 billion) in funds under management and more than 40 infrastructure debt investments globally as at 31 January 2017.