Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer advises OMERS on proposed acquisition of stake in La Trobe Financial

Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer (HSF Kramer) has advised Canadian pension fund Ontario Municipal Employees Retirement System (OMERS) on its proposed acquisition of an indirect minority interest in La Trobe Financial, via a Brookfield managed investment vehicle.

OMERS runs a defined benefit pension plan, managing over CAD$145 billion in net assets as at 31 December 2025, on behalf of 665,000 members. The fund has been investing in Australian assets for more than 10 years, having opened an office in Sydney in 2014. It has invested in a number of Australian infrastructure projects including transportation hubs, energy networks, and public utilities, and has acquired and developed prime real estate assets through its Oxford Properties arm. 

La Trobe Financial is one of Australia’s most recognised alternative asset managers, managing over AUD$26 billion in assets on behalf of more than 130,000 investors, including global financial institutions, financial advisers, retirees, and individual investors. 

The HSF Kramer M&A team was comprised of partner Nicole Pedler, senior associates Tim Coorey, Marijana Banovac and Henry Simpson and solicitors Nancy Wang, Anson Lee and Ru Zhang. 

Nicole said, “We are proud to have advised the OMERS team on its investment into this strategically important asset managed by Brookfield.”

This transaction is another example of HSF Kramer’s market-leading work in M&A. Other recent examples include advising:

• FleetPartners on its proposed acquisition by SG Fleet for $1.13 billion
• Reliance Worldwide Corporation on its proposed acquisition by Brookfield
• Ramsay Health Care on its proposal to separate from Ramsay Générale de Santé by in specie distribution under a scheme of arrangement
• Energy Fuels on its proposed scrip for scrip acquisition of Australian Strategic Materials by scheme of arrangement
• Maas Group Holdings on its proposed sale of its Construction Materials business to Heidelberg Materials for $1.7 billion 
• Equity Trustees on its response to control proposals by TPG and BGH 
• GIC on the acquisition in consortium with Brookfield of National Storage REIT
• One Investment Management on the acquisition in consortium including with CC Capital of Insignia Financial
• Apiam Animal Health on its acquisition by Adamantem Capital
• BlueScope Steel on its response to the unsolicited offer from SGH Limited and Steel Dynamics to acquire BlueScope Steel
• Shandong Sinocera Functional Material Co. on its acquisition of SDI Limited
• Aura Consolidated Group on its acquisition of Qoria Limited and ASX listing
• EQT on its acquisition of Orikan
• Ampol on its $1.165 billion acquisition of EG Australia