BRISBANE, Australia, Oct. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- A QIC led consortium has entered into a binding agreement to acquire the Iona Gas Storage Facility (Iona) west of Melbourne in Victoria, Australia, from EnergyAustralia, a member of the China Light & Power Group.

The successful QIC Consortium comprising the QIC Global Infrastructure Fund (QGIF) and existing QIC clients will acquire Iona for a purchase price of A$1.78 billion. 

Financial close is expected to occur in the December-quarter 2015.

Ross Israel, Head of QIC Global Infrastructure said, "I'm delighted that we have been able to achieve this outcome for our clients and QGIF, our pooled global infrastructure fund. For QGIF, it builds on the successful first close achieved on 4 August 2015.

"Iona is a strategic, high-quality infrastructure asset in the Australian east coast gas market. It provides essential storage facilities to domestic integrated utilities to service intermediate and peak gas demand.

"We believe Iona is an attractive core infrastructure asset for our clients with an essential role in the Australian east coast energy supply value chain. It has long term contracts with its customers, which underpin stable and predictable cashflows while also presenting a platform for further growth and expansion opportunities."

About Iona:

• Iona was the first underground natural gas storage facility in Australia.
• With a storage capacity of 23.5 petajoules, Iona is a significant storage facility servicing South-Eastern Australia.
• Iona has long term contracts with major integrated gas and electricity providers. 
• The storage facility and associated processing plant is strategic in the supply of gas and generation of electricity to customers in Victoria, South Australia and up the east coast of Australia.

About QIC:

QIC is a global diversified alternatives investment firm offering infrastructure, real estate, private equity, liquid strategies and multi-asset investments. It is one of the largest institutional investment managers in Australia, with A$73.8 billion (US$56.9 billion)¹  in funds under management, offering infrastructure, real estate, private equity, liquid strategies and multi-asset investment services. QIC has over 90 clients including governments, pension plans, sovereign wealth funds and insurers, spanning Australia, Europe, Asia, Middle East and the US. Headquartered in Brisbane, Australia, QIC also has offices in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, London, Sydney, and Melbourne. For more information, please visit: www.qic.com.

About QIC's Global Infrastructure Business:

QIC is a long-term infrastructure investor with an established global platform. We currently manage A$6.0 billion (US$4.6 billion)² across 10 global direct investments, spanning transport, utilities and public-private partnership assets and have realized a further A$6.6 billion (US$5.1 billion) of investments for our clients. Our sector-centric investment strategy deconstructs risk across sector value chains, identifies relative value for investment, and drives a targeted origination approach that has enabled us to build diversified portfolios for our clients, protecting their capital while delivering strong total returns since 2006.

About QGIF:

QGIF is an unlisted investment vehicle that seeks to provide institutional investors with access to attractive, risk-adjusted returns through long-term exposure to a diversified portfolio of global infrastructure assets. The Fund has secured commitments from a range of institutional investors including Hostplus, one of Australia's largest pension funds, an Asian sovereign wealth fund and one of China's leading insurers.

For further information please contact:

About the QIC Global Infrastructure Fund:

The Fund is intended for offer to substantial institutional and professional investors ("Accredited Investors" as defined in Regulation D of the Securities Act or "Qualified Purchasers" for Investment Company Act purposes).  The Fund's investment minimum is $20 million and the investor must understand and capable of bearing the risk of possible loss of that investment.  This press release does not constitute an offer or solicitation in any jurisdiction to any person or entity to which it is unlawful to make such offer or solicitation in such jurisdiction. 

Alternative investments are speculative and involve a great degree of risk and are not suitable for all investors. An investment in the Interests offered hereby involves risk and is suitable only for investors that have substantial financial resources in relation to their investment in the Interests and that understand both the tax consequences and particular risk factors of this investment.   Private funds are not subject to the same regulatory requirements as registered funds.  The Fund has not been and will not be registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended.  The Fund will not be registered as an investment company under the U.S. Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended.  Investors will not be afforded the protections of the Investment Company Act.

An investment in the Fund will involve significant risks due, among other things, to the nature of the Fund's investments. Investors should have the financial ability and willingness to accept the risks and lack of liquidity that are characteristic of the investments described herein. No assurance can be given that the Fund's investment objective will be achieved or that investors will receive a return of their capital. Potential investors should carefully read the information under.

There will be no public market for the Fund, and there is no obligation on the part of any person to register the Interests under the Securities Act or any blue sky law. Accordingly, investors should be aware that they will be required to bear the financial risks of an investment in the Fund for an indefinite period of time.

The Fund is subject to restrictions on transferability and resale and may not be transferred or resold except as permitted under the Securities Act and the applicable blue sky laws. Additionally, the Fund may not be directly or indirectly sold, assigned, transferred, pledged, hypothecated, disposed or encumbered, in whole or in part, except as provided in the applicable limited partnership agreement of the Fund.

QIC Limited ACN 130 539 123 ("QIC") is a wholesale funds manager and its products and services are not directly available to retail investors.  QIC is a company government owned corporation constituted under the Queensland Investment Corporation Act 1991 (Qld). QIC is regulated by State Government legislation pertaining to government owned corporations in addition to the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) ("Corporations Act"). QIC does not hold an Australian financial services ("AFS") licence and certain provisions (including the financial product disclosure provisions) of the Corporations Act do not apply to QIC. Please note however that some wholly owned subsidiaries of QIC have been issued with an AFS licence and are required to comply with the Corporations Act.  QIC also has wholly owned subsidiaries authorised, registered or licensed by the UK FCA, USA SEC, Irish Central Bank and Korean FSS.

For more information about QIC Limited ACN 130 539 123 ("QIC"), our approach and regulatory framework, please refer to our website www.qic.com or contact us directly.

This document is issued by QIC Investments No 1 Pty Ltd in the USA. Neither this document nor any advertisement or other offering material may be distributed or published in any jurisdiction, except under circumstances that will result in compliance with any applicable laws and regulations.

QIC European Investment Services Limited ("QEIS"), a wholly owned subsidiary of QIC, is a private limited company incorporated in England and is authorised and regulated by the UK Financial Conduct Authority ("FCA") (www.fca.org.uk). This authorisation allows QEIS to market its products and provide cross border services across certain European Economic Area States via a MiFID Corporate Passport. QIC Limited ACN 130 539 123 ("QIC") is a wholesale funds manager and its products and services are not directly available to retail clients.

The promotion of unregulated collective investment schemes by authorised persons is restricted in the UK pursuant to section 238 of FSMA. As a result, these materials are directed only at persons who are professional clients or eligible counterparties for the purposes of the FCA's Conduct of Business Sourcebook (together with Investment Professionals, "Relevant Persons"). Any investment or investment activity to which these materials relate is available, subject to QIC's discretion, only to Relevant Persons in accordance with the foregoing and will be engaged in only with such persons.

As at the date of this document, the Fund has been notified, registered or approved (as the case may be and howsoever described) in accordance with the local law/regulations implementing the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (Directive (2011/61/EU)) (the "AIFMD") for marketing to professional investors into the following member state(s) of the European Economic AREA ("EEA") (each a "Member State"): Belgium, Finland, Denmark, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, The United Kingdom and Ireland. In relation to other member states, this document may only be distributed and Interests may only be offered or placed in a member state: (i) at the investor's own initiative; or (ii) to the extent that this document may otherwise be lawfully distributed and the Interests may lawfully be offered or placed in that member state.

Vittorio Lacagnina is a registered representative with Foreside Fund Services LLC, a broker-dealer that is not affiliated with QIC.

Copyright QIC Limited, Australia 2015.  All rights are reserved.

¹ As at 30 June 2015
² As of 30 June 2015

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SOURCE QIC