Bluestone’s mortgage book sold

The deal was signed off by the Overseas Investment Office on November 26.

In its recently released decision, the OIO says consent was granted as the Challenger NZ HoldCo1 met the investor test criterion. While the applicant is a New Zealand company, it is ultimately owned by Challenger, an Australian management firm.

Challenger, described as one of Australia’s most active fund businesses, has a capitalisation of $4.1 billion and at the end of June last year managed $A127 billion in assets.

Bluestone Home Loans quit New Zealand in August last year. Following a strategic review the company decided the New Zealand specialist non-bank
lending market was well-serviced, and the opportunity and market fit for it was too small.