Ascott Residence Trust (ART) says it has sold its properties in China and France for a total of $191.4 million.
On Monday, ART entered into two conditional agreements to divest Ascott Guangzhou and Citadines Didot Montparnasse Paris to two unrelated third parties, for RMB780 million ($155 million) and EUR23.6 million ($36.4 million).
ART says it is expected to realise total estimated net gains of some $23.2 million from the sales.
For Ascott Guangzhou in China, the divestment price is worth some 52% above the property’s book value and about 81% higher than its acquisition price of RMB431 million in 2012. ART expects to realise net gains of some $19.4 million upon the completion of the transaction in 1Q21.
The divestment price for Citadines Didot Montparnasse Paris, France, is about 69% above the property’s book value, and 60.4% higher than its acquisition price. Citadines Didot Montparnasse Paris was one of the 28 properties ART acquired from The Ascott Limited for a total sum of S$1.39 billion in 2010. The trust expects to realise net gains of around $3.8 million when the transaction is completed in 4Q20.
“Despite the COVID19 situation, the opportunistic sale of Ascott Guangzhou and Citadines Didot Montparnasse Paris at an attractive price allows ART to rejuvenate its portfolio and unlock the strong underlying value of these properties,” says Beh Siew Kim, CEO of ART’s manager.
“The proceeds may also be used to pare down ART’s debt and reduce its gearing, as distribution to stapled securityholders, or for general corporate purposes,” she adds.
Units in ART closed 1 cent lower, or 1.1% down, at 93.5 cents on Friday.
