Rava’s Samty Buying Majority Stake in Aussie Student Housing Operator UniLodge for $391M

Japan’s Samty Holdings has agreed to acquire a majority interest in Australian student housing operator UniLodge, with market sources confirming a deal value of A$600 million ($391.3 million).

The Osaka-based real estate firm controlled by Hillhouse Investment’s Rava Partners unit is picking up the stake from fund manager Pamoja Capital, the companies said Friday in a release. The transaction remains subject to regulatory approval.

UniLodge bills itself as the largest operator in the living sector in Australia and New Zealand, managing 45,000 beds under an asset-light model. Samty president and CEO Yasuhiro Ogawa said the acquisition supports the firm’s long-term ambition to expand its role as a leading provider of accommodation services in Asia Pacific.

“We are committed to maintaining UniLodge’s high standard of accommodation for the thousands of students and families who rely on their well-managed and maintained properties,” Ogawa said.

Living Transformation

Since its privatisation in January by Rava and Daiwa Securities Group, Samty has pursued initiatives to support its transformation from a developer model into an asset manager focused on the living sector.

Recent moves have included the $391 million first closing of Samty’s inaugural hotel fund in July, as well as the sale of two investment pools of multi-family assets valued at $330 million to a sovereign wealth fund in September, with Samty retained as the asset manager of both investment pools.

With the purchase of its controlling stake in Brisbane-based UniLodge, led by CEO Tomas Johnsson, Samty is banking on strong and consistent demand from local and international students to support stable operational performance.

“This is an outstanding addition to Samty’s investment portfolio,” said Joe Gagnon, co-head of Rava Partners and partner at Hillhouse Investment. “Australia is one of the most dynamic living sector markets in the Asia Pacific region, and with UniLodge, Samty is acquiring the industry leader.”

Outgoing shareholder Pamoja Capital, the Luxembourg-based family office of Canadian entrepreneur John McCall MacBain, plans to deepen its support for the philanthropic endeavours of the McCall MacBain Foundation, according to Friday’s announcement.

Beds Boom

Australian media reported in September that UniLodge had attracted interest from US investors including private equity firm Warburg Pincus and apartment giant Greystar.

Australia has more than 90,000 privately managed beds under purpose-built student accommodation, according to a report from the Property Council of Australia and consultancy Urbis. Adding on-campus and college-managed beds brings the nationwide total to 134,000 beds.

Government policies linking international student visa allocations with student housing growth have unlocked new projects and boosted the development pipeline to 40,000 new beds, up from 36,000 at the beginning of the year.

Of the pipeline, 12,522 beds are in the development application phase, 16,366 have development approval and 11,202 are under construction. New South Wales has 9,876 beds in the pipeline, while Queensland has 8,839. Victoria has the second-largest pipeline at 9,170, but most are in the approval or application stage because of state taxes pressuring project feasibility, the report said.