Nice 5th birthday present for Partners Life

Naomi Ballantyne

When any of my kids turned five they probably got a cheque from their grandparents for $50 bucks to spend as they wanted. Partners Life has just turned five and it is getting a cheque for $200 million. Sure this will be paid out over the next couple of years, but it will be well spent growing the business.

The money has come from one of the biggest investors in the world, New York-based Blackstone. The company recently hit headlines in New Zealand with the purchase of five well-established retirement villages. it also owns Burger King and Ixom, a former division of Orica.

The investment into Partners is a coup for the company, as many people had doubts that it could find the necessary capital to grow, especially after market turmoil put back plans for a listing on the sharemarket.

The capital injection will, I suspect, be the envy of some competitors. Life company executives often talk about the need for capital and the difficulty they have raising it. To see this young upstart get $200 million will be a worry for some.