Earlier this week, Retirement Villages New Zealand signalled plans to sell its 37.7%, with Infratil confirming it had a conditional agreement to buy a 19.9% stake for $147.9 million. Then, separately, the NZ Super Fund confirmed its conditional agreement, buying 17% for $126 million. Both were based on a $3.53 share price.
Metlifecare listed on the Australian stock exchange on Monday and saw its share price rally this week by 12.6%, or 42 cents, to $3.78. Yesterday, its shares gained another almost 9% to trade around $4.15.
Metlifecare's expanding assets are at present 3836 independent units and apartments and 359 rest-home/hospital beds, with development plans under way in Auckland, the Bay of Plenty and Hamilton.
Elderly care companies have been a stock exchange success story during the past year.
Ryman Healthcare was up 82.6%, from $3.99 to $7.43, Summerset up 61.6%, from $2.04 to $3.21, and Metlifecare up 31.7%, from $3.01 to its year-high of $4.15 yesterday.
Craigs Investment Partners broker Peter McIntyre said while Infratil had signalled a share buy-back programme from its partial sale of Z Energy, it subsequently decided to instead invest in Metlifecare, which was well outside its usual target investment types.
''Infratil obviously saw better, long-term value for its shareholders in Metlifecare than [giving them] cash back,'' Mr McIntyre said.
Forsyth Barr broker Haley Van Leeuwen said while Infratil's $147.9 million purchase appeared to be a different Infratil investment scenario, its past investment strategy had been to buy assets with the ability for value accretion; as in its Z Energy purchase and partial sale.
''Infratil have quite a large property division. They do have expertise in the area of property development, and given Metlifecare's development pipeline, it will be a favourable partnership arrangement,'' Ms Van Leeuwen said.
Mr McIntyre said all three care companies had similar positive ''fundamentals'' - identifying areas with growth in the older demographic, making the most of village construction during a low-interest period, and taking up land-banking opportunities. Mr McIntyre said Metlifecare had described a ''golden triangle'' for development where there was an expanding elderly demographic - within Auckland, the Bay of Plenty and Hamilton.
Earlier this week Metlifecare announced it had been granted resource consent for a North Shore, Auckland, village which would be its 14th Auckland village and fourth on the North Shore.
Metlifecare posted a profit of $120.3 million for the year ended June, turning around a $141.7 million loss in 2012.
Ms Van Leeuwen said given Infratil's large 19.9% stake, it showed that when Infratil invested it preferred a controlling stake, in order to be part of the driving success behind its investments.
She noted traditional infrastructure investments included schools and hospitals, but that view had changed and it could now be argued that providing medical and aged care for the elderly was now seen as ''definitely part of the community infrastructure''.
