NL’s APG and Korean NPS link to invest in real assets

Dutch pension provider and asset manager APG is joining forces with the National Pension Service of South Korea for collaborative investments in large international infrastructure and commercial property projects.

APG said in a statement that the collaboration will provide “multiple economies of scale” that will help to provide maximum pension value to customers.

NPS manages $600 billion in assets which is expected to grow to $1 trillion by 2024.

The two asset managers have already cooperated on two major investments this year having acquired a share in the toll road operator Brisa in April and a stake in Australian student housing operator Scape Australia more recently.

APG’s board member responsible for asset management, Ronald Wuijster, said: “Both parties gain access to new and attractive investment opportunities, investments that are more difficult to realise by APG independently and at higher cost.”

Cooperation provides more clout and greater influence

Cooperating gives both APG and NPS greater influence and voting rights in business operations and enables them to assert ambitions such as their sustainability goals, Wuijster said.

APG was part of the consortium that earlier in October concluded the acquisition of an 81.1% stake in Brisa – Auto-Estradas de Portugal along with NPS and Swiss Life Asset Managers

Brisa has a network of over 1,500km of roads, covering the main axes of the Portuguese road system.

The deal valued the equity of Brisa at more than €3 billion but Jan-Willem Ruisbroek, head of global infrastructure investment strategy at APG, said: “We have available capital to grow the business and expect to invest over €1.2 billion over the next 15 years in the maintenance and improvement of its road network and in the development of new mobility solutions.”