Australians top up assets via two big deals

In the first deal, the Overseas Investment Commission approved listed landlord Macquarie Goodman's reshuffle of its New Zealand real estate holdings.

This saw three separate applications for the transfer of Auckland property worth more than $300 million.

The applications came from Australia's Macquarie Goodman Management, Australia's Macquarie Goodman Industrial Trust and New Zealand's Macquarie Goodman Property Trust.

The three deals all involved the transfer of 24ha of Auckland land to the New Zealand trust, which is 80 per cent New Zealand-owned via its listing on NZX. The Sydney-based Goodman family own 3.4 per cent, Macquarie Bank of Australia owns 6.9 per cent and 9.5 per cent is held in Australian-owned shares.

In another large property deal involving Australians, the commission approved builder Multiplex's purchase of 12 properties from American-owned AmTrust Pacific Properties for $261 million.

The commission heard how the deal would enable the Sydney-based Multiplex Group to diversify its geographic spread of properties and increase its commercial property holdings here.

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