Stonepeak, Spirit Super in $1.1bn GeelongPort buy

GeelongPort has been sold after construction finished in October on the new facility for the Spirit of Tasmania. Picture: Mark Wilson

Stonepeak and Spirit Super have agreed to buy GeelongPort for $1.1bn.

Working for the buyers were Gresham and law firms King & Wood Mallesons and Clayton Utz.

Stonepeak, on behalf of its managed funds and accounts, will hold a majority 70 per cent interest in the entity and Spirit Super will have a 30 per cent stake.

It comes after DataRoom flagged in recent days a sale of the port to Spirit Super and another party was imminent.

Brookfield Managing Director of Infrastructure Ray Neill said, in October of this year, construction of the new facility for the Spirit of Tasmania finished and daily sailings started.

“This is a transformational 30-year contract for GeelongPort and will provide a significant and ongoing boost to the broader Geelong region.”

State Super and Brookfield expect to complete the transaction in the late first quarter in 2023.

Earlier, it was set GeelongPort had $60m of earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation.

It comes after an earlier agreed deal for Palisade Investment Partners and Spirit Super to buy the port for $1.2bn was abandoned after the pair failed to gain support from the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission

Palisade already owns 40 per cent of the Port of Portland in Victoria while Spirit Super is an investor in Flinders Port in South Australia.

Working on the initial auction for the port were Barrenjoey and Macquarie Capital on behalf of owners Brookfield and State Super.