Industry super fund Unisuper will invest $250 million in an Australian commercial mortgage backed securities (CMBS) issue of the Charter Hall retail real estate investment trust (REIT).
The deal marks the first investment of UniSuper's new CMBS portfolio managed by Colonial First State Global Asset Management.
"Given our experience, investment strategy and horizon, UniSuper is well placed to capitalise on investment opportunities such as this and we remain open to investing in similar opportunities in future," UniSuper chief investment officer John Pearce said.
The Charter Hall Retail REIT invests predominantly in grocery anchored shopping centres around the world.
Charter Hall's existing CMBS facility is to be refinanced by a placement of notes for a four year term to September 2015.
The AAA-rated note includes a margin of 1.80 per cent over the benchmark interest rate.
The new facility will be backed by a large collateral pool of sub-regional shopping centres and freestanding supermarkets valued at over $737 million, representing a loan-to-value ratio of 33.9 per cent.
