Pursuant to the launch of the private placement on May 4, the manager of Ascendas REIT has announced that the placement closed at an issue price of $2.94 per new unit, amounting to some $420 million in gross proceeds.
142.7 million new units will be issued following the exercise, with trading of the new units expected to commence on May 14.
The closing price represents a 5.2% discount to the volume weighted average price (VWAP) of $3.11 per unit as at May 4.
SEE:Ascendas REIT to raise $420 mil through private placement
In a filing to SGX on May 5, the manager states that the placement was 2.6 times covered, with “strong demand from new and existing institutional, accredited and other investors”.
The filing also highlights that DBS's Treasury Investments Unit (DBS TI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of DBS Group Holdings, was allocated 16.5 million units through the exercise. Temasek Holdings, which indirectly holds a stake in Ascendas REIT via its 52.2% indirect holding in sponsor Ascendas Land International (Investments), also holds a 29.9% interest in DBS Group.
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SGX has stated that it has no objections to the placement of new units to DBS TI pursuant to Rule 812(4) of the Listing Manual of the SGX-ST, subject to certain conditions, including DBS operates independently from and is not involved in the management of Ascendas REIT and the sponsor, as well as no common directors between the manager, the sponsor and DBS, among others.
Units in Ascendas REIT closed 2 cents higher or 0.6% up at $3.12 on May 4.
