SINGAPORE (Sept 9): Frasers Centrepoint Trust (FCT), the developer-sponsored retail REIT, has raised its stake in Waterway Point, the suburban retail mall located at 83 Punggol Central, to 40% from 33⅓%.
This comes after Frasers Centrepoint Asset Management (FCAM) last Friday signed a conditional sale and purchase agreement with vendor Sekisui House to acquire a further 6⅔% of Sapphire Star Trust (SST) which currently holds the retail units in the retail mall.
The S&P agreement also covers the purchase of the vendor’s 6⅔% share of a unitholders’ loan previously extended by the unitholders of SST to SST; and 6⅔% of the issued share capital in the trustee-manager of SST.
The total acquisition outlay for the acquisition is $89.6 million. This comprises $50.4 million for the purchase of the target units; $38.2 million in the pro rata share of bank loan owed by SST and the remaining sum of $1 million in various fees.
The purchase consideration of the target units is based on an agreed property value of $1.3 billion, or $3,502 psf of net lettable area on a 100% basis, which is the same basis as the acquisition of the initial 33⅓% stake by FCT previously announced in May.
FCT malls are located in various established residential townships and have a large and diversified tenant base covering a wide variety of trade sectors.
Richard Ng, CEO of FCAM, says, “This acquisition is aligned with our strategy of increasing FCT’s market share in Singapore’s suburban retail sector. We are growing our stake in Waterway Point as it is a popular retail hub that is set to benefit from the growing population and exciting developments in the surrounding Punggol precinct. This positions Waterway Point well to deliver long-term growth and good returns for FCT and its unitholders.”
The manager intends to finance the total acquisition with a combination of debt and internal sources.
As at 10.56am, units in FCT are down 2 cents at $2.74.
