KWM is delighted to have advised QSuper in its landmark merger with Sunsuper, which has completed today.
QSuper and Sunsuper will merge to become Australian Retirement Trust with over $200B in assets, making the deal Australia’s largest-ever super fund merger.
While the industry has previously seen consolidation among under-performing or smaller funds, the QSuper–Sunsuper merger is significant, representing a strategic decision by two high-performing funds to become one of Australia’s largest funds.
In addition to being the industry’s largest, the deal was also among its most complex. KWM also advised on establishing the governance arrangements critical to delivering on a fiduciary’s focus on members’ financial interests.
The KWM team was led by partners Sarah Yu (superannuation and regulatory) and Rhys Casey (mergers and acquisitions) with support from Senior Associates Nita Alexander and Prue O’Sullivan. Additional support was provided by partners Kai-Chen Lamb on tax, Emma Costello on litigation, Simon Cooke on competition, Bryony Evans on the merged entity’s inter-group arrangements, special counsels Mandy Tsang on insurance and Jasmine Forde on litigation.
Commenting on the transaction, Sarah Yu said:
“This is an exciting deal. Both funds are strong industry players who saw the value they could deliver to their members by merging – it is very rewarding to help them achieve that.
The boards have had the unwavering focus of a fiduciary on the best financial interests of members and it has been exciting to partner with the Deanne Wilden led QSuper legal team to design and deliver a merger to achieve this.”
