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Grollo family sells stake in Rialto tower deal
Arnold Bloch Leibler has advised the Grollo family on the $644 million Rialto tower deal.
Tony Zhang
Firms: Arnold Bloch Leibler (Grollo Australia)
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Deal: Arnold Bloch Leibler has advised their longstanding private client, the Grollo family, in relation to its ongoing ownership interest in the Rialto Towers in Melbourne, as part of a complex transfer of a 50 per cent stake in the iconic commercial building.
Rialto Towers is a prime-grade, 55-storey building, and is one of the largest office buildings located in Melbourne’s central business district.
Value: $644 million.
Area: Property.
Key players: The ABL team advising the Grollo family was led by partner Philip Chester and senior associates Stephanie Campbell and Dorian Henneron, with assistance from lawyers Stefano Vinci and Genevieve Pope.
Deal significance: The transaction involves the sale of St Martins Properties’ (Kuwait government sovereign fund) 50 per cent share in Rialto Towers to a joint venture formed between GIC (Singaporean sovereign fund) and Australia’s largest office landlord, Dexus, for an enterprise value of $644 million. Grollo Australia will retain a 50 per cent share.
Mr Chester commented: “This was a complicated transaction made all the more difficult by the current COVID-19 crisis. We are pleased to have assisted the Grollo family [in] this important commercial property transaction.”
Dexus and Singapore sovereign wealth fund Government Investment Corporation are paying Kuwait’s St Martins Property $644 million for a half share of the Rialto Melbourne complex in a new joint venture (JV).
The incoming owners will co-control 525 Collins Street with Grollo Group, which is directed by Lorenz Grollo, son of owner, Rino.
GIC Dexus will hold a 10 per cent share in the venture and they will be the investment manager of the JV and has been appointed as the manager of the entire Rialto Towers complex.
Dexus CEO, Darren Steinberg said: “We are pleased to continue to grow our relationship with GIC, enabling them to extend their investments into the Australian office market. In the current environment, we are focused on business continuity, and pleasingly were able to close this off-market transaction within our targeted timeframes.”
