DCM Group CEO Chris Baynes’ Opinion Article last Tuesday on the move by HMC Capital to buy 2.69% voting power in the Victorian land lease communities provider sparked a response from HMC.
“It’s early days in our investment into [the company] and we are yet to engage with the company regarding opportunities to drive value creation for shareholders, but we look forward to building a constructive relationship with the board and management team.” HMC Capital private equity head Victoria Hardie told The Australian Financial Review.
“While Lifestyle Communities is facing some near-term challenges, we have high conviction in the attractive demographic tailwinds and growth opportunities for the land lease community sector over the medium to longer term.”
HMC Capital Group could acquire a further 4.5%, as Chris wrote, through a total return swap arranged with Macquarie Bank for a stake of 5,541,491 shares.
Lifestyle Communities’ Co-Founder and Managing Director James Kelly, who founded the company in 2003 and led it from a market capitalisation of $18 million in 2007 to more than $1 billion today, said he would retire from the business at the end of the year.
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