Ascendas Reit

[greengiraffe]

Ascendas to share $1.1bn GIC buy with Singapore-listed ­fund

• THE AUSTRALIAN
  
• AUGUST 24, 2015 12:00AM
  

0

Ben Wilmot
[Image: ben_wilmot.png]
Commercial Property Editor
Sydney

[Image: 309220-78df0230-4959-11e5-9913-363a028f0bc1.jpg]
Ascendas will probably split its purchase of GIC Real Estate’s $1.1 billion industrial property portfolio between its own balance sheet and its flagship Singapore-listed fund. Source: Getty Images
[b]Singaporean property group Ascendas will probably split its impending purchase of GIC Real Estate’s $1.1 billion industrial property portfolio between its own balance sheet and its flagship Singapore-listed fund.[/b]
The GIC portfolio sale is edging closer with Ascendas established as preferred buyer and the details of the portfolio split and the quantum of any equity raising required by a listed fund now being worked on.
The ability of Ascendas to fork out $1.1bn, with the pricing reflecting a yield of about 6 per cent, worked in its favour, and effectively gave its funds management ambitions a leg up.
Singapore-listed ­Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust last month disclosed that it was “actively exploring investment opportunities in mature developed markets for A-REIT”.
The fund has a $S8.2bn ($7.95bn) portfolio and revealed that “it plans to expand its investment scope to cover new mature developed markets such as Australia and Germany”.
The group said A-REIT’s portfolio would remain mainly Singapore-based assets, with the manager aiming for new ­mature markets to make up 20-30 per cent of the portfolio.
Ascendas is part of the Ascendas-Singbridge group and is Asia’s top provider of business space solutions with assets under management of over $S16bn.
JLL and Colliers International have handled the deal for the 26-asset GIC portfolio that comprises more than 630,000sq m of high-quality space in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane.
Most believe that Ascendas has longer term ambitions and will also buy higher yielding properties.

[greengiraffe]

Ah gong hands into listed lesser control entity...

GSIC owns 80.1% of the deal... pls refer to FCL posting on history

http://www.valuebuddies.com/thread-4380-...#pid119843
Singaporean property giant Ascendas lands $1bn portfolio

• THE AUSTRALIAN
  
• SEPTEMBER 19, 2015 12:00AM
  

0

Kylar Loussikian
[Image: kylar_loussikian.png]
Journalist
Sydney

Ben Wilmot
[Image: ben_wilmot.png]
Commercial Property Editor
Sydney

[b]Singaporean property giant Ascendas has crashed Australia’s hot industrial property sector with the purchase of a $1 billion logistics portfolio from Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC and Frasers Property Australia.[/b]
The 26-property portfolio will be placed into the Singapore-listed Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust, which will immediately become the eight largest industrial landlord in Australia, as a result of striking the country’s largest industrial deal.
Ascendas, which is already being offered higher-yielding assets to add to its portfolio, said it’s REIT “could explore potential opportunities to expand its footprint through partnerships with property consultants and local real estate partners to provide greater choices for industrial property users”.
“We are excited by this unique opportunity to make a strategic investment in Australia,” the manager’s chief executive Tan Ser Ping said.
The purchase, had garnered much attention as it will generate a net property income yield of about 6.4 per cent before transaction costs in the first year, or a tight 6 per cent after costs.
This has prompted analysts to suggest that values across the sector will rise, particularly as more portfolio deals are struck.
The Australian this week reported that Charter Hall Group had snared a $650m parcel of assets from Goodman Group’s funds and Partners Group was backing a major development play in western Sydney by Logos Property.
The $1.013bn acquisition, will be funded by Ascendas REIT taking on $600m in debt and issuing perpetual securities. Despite the landmark pricing, the deal will lift distributions per share accretion by 3-3.5 per cent.
It is understood that Ascendas is yet to decides how to operate the portfolio, and will keep managers Logos Property and Frasers Australand in place in the interim.
JLL and Colliers International handled the deal for the portfolio that comprises more than 630,000sq m of high-quality space in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Michael Fenton, JLL’s head of industrial, said the competitive nature of the bidding process was a demonstration of the weight of capital vying for Australian industrial assets.”
“We can equate the unsuccessful bidders to an aggregate of $10 billion of unsatisfied demand seeking exposure to Australian industrial assets,” Mr Fenton said.
More than $3.6 billion of Australian industrial property have now been sold to overseas investors this year, about 56 per cent of all sales.
Malcom Tyson, Colliers International managing director of industrial, said the transaction was the largest of its type in Australian industrial history. “As the Australian industrial market moves from an industry founded on manufacturing, to an industry driven by the highest quality logistics and warehousing facilities, demand for Australian industrial assets will continue to be strong,” he said.
His colleagues Gavin Bishop and Simon Beirne noted that yields in the Australian industrial market were still more favourable than those of other international markets, prompting global buyers to seek further opportunities.
Ascendas, which flagged a push into Australia last month, beat a number of other interested parties for the portfolio, with private equity groups Warburg Pincus and The Redwood Group as well as Logos Property, backed by the Canadian fund manager Ivanhoe Cambridge, also bidding.

[greengiraffe]

• Sep 18 2015 at 12:43 PM 
   
  
  
•  Updated Sep 18 2015 at 8:25 PM 
  

Singapore's Ascendas clinches $1b+ GIC logistics portfolio

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NaN of
[img=620x0]http://www.afr.com/content/dam/images/g/j/q/0/2/u/image.related.afrArticleLead.620x350.gjpo9a.png/1442571919329.jpg[/img]Kmart Distribution Centre at Eastern Creek, the largest asset in the portfolio.
[Image: 1426054187157.png]

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by Mercedes Ruehl
Singapore's Ascendas has overnight become become one of the biggest owners of logistics real estate in Australia, buying a portfolio of 26 huge warehouses from Singapore's sovereign fund, GIC, and Frasers Property Australia for $1.073 billion.
The deal is the second-largest industrial property deal to date in the Asia Pacific and the biggest-ever industrial transaction in Australia.   
Not one local Australian group made the shortlist, which included  Warburg Pincus, Blackstone, LOGOS Property backed by Ivanhoe Cambridge and ARA Asset Management. 
While many local groups bid for the portfolio, such as Stockland and Lend Lease, offshore groups can take on a higher proportion of debt – up to to 60 per cent – whereas a lot of the domestic real estate trusts have debt thresholds. Combined with a cheaper cost of capital, they can be much more competitive on pricing. 

The portfolio comprises more than 630,000 square metres of logistics, predominantly located along the east coast cities of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. More than 80 per cent of the portfolio is leased to blue-chip tenants such as Coles, Toll, Kmart and Nestle. The properties will be placed into the Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust and the acquisition will be funded by $600 million in debt and the issuance of securities. 
Ascendas is now the eighth-largest national industrial landlord in Australia and it is understood it will appoint its own team to manage the portfolio. 
"With this beachhead, A-REIT could explore potential opportunities to expand its footprint through partnerships with property consultants and local real estate partners to provide greater choices for industrial property users," Ascendas said in a statement. 
JLL's national industrial and capital markets team introduced offshore investors and Colliers International's national industrial team introduced domestic buyers to vendors GIC Frasers.  MinterEllison acted as Australian lawyers to Ascendas.


ATTRACTIVE INVESTMENT CHARACTERISTICS
"The industrial sector continues to offer a yield premium to the office and retail sectors and lower volatility of returns relative to office markets," JLL head of industrial Michael Fenton said.   "Australia's industrial market presents attractive investment characteristics including strong tenant covenants and long weighted average lease expiries [WALE]."
The average age of portfolio is six years. The WALE is 5.7 years and occupancy is 94.4 per cent.
"When looking at the process undertaken on this portfolio, it is very apparent that investors from around the world remain attracted to the Australian market and are prepared to aggressively pursue the right opportunities," Chris Key JLL's head of corporate finance – Asia Pacific, said.

Offshore investors purchased $2.63 billion worth of Australian industrial property throughout the 2014-15 financial year; this was equivalent to 41 per cent of all transactions for the sector over that period, according to Tony Iuliano national director at Colliers International. 
"This deal is an indication that offshore institutional investors continue to see Australian industrial property as a solid investment option," Mr Iuliano said.
Colliers director Gavin Bishop noted REITS, super funds and sovereign wealth funds have all been active buyers in the industrial sector over the past 18 months. 
"Yields in the Australian industrial market are still more favourable than those of other international markets, so global buyers will continue to seek opportunities in this market," Mr Bishop said.

Morgan Stanley's trading desk remarked on Ascendas's bullish outlook on the Australia's economy.  
"The biggest surprise for us was not so much the absolute price, but the very upbeat assessment of the outlook for the Australian economy," it said. "Having a detailed look at the presentation, many of the conclusions are at odds with those of our macro team, who see rising unemployment, the housing "boom"  coming to an end and GDP [gross domestic product] growth in 2016 at sub 2 per cent." 
The sale is subject to Foreign Investment Review Board approval. 

[greengiraffe]

AREIT, dbs upgraded to BUY:

A serious contender in Australia
 Acquiring A$1.01bn logistics portfolio in Australia
 3.0%-3.5% uplift to DPU ; further earnings diversification
 Upgrade to BUY on valuations, TP raised to S$2.45
8th largest industrial landlord in Australia. Ascendas REIT is
proposing to acquire a portfolio of 26 logistics properties in Australia
for A$1,013m (S$1.013m, based on AUD-SGD exchange rate of 1.0)
from the real estate arm of GIC and Frasers Property Australia Pty
Limited through their controlled subsidiaries/ affiliates. This represents a
6.6% premium above the open market value as per JLL. The purchase
consideration implies an initial yield of 6.4% (6.0% after transaction
costs) which appears tight but we believe is a reflection of the
portfolio’s young property age, prime location and quality tenant
profile, which are mainly 3PLs and end users and lastly, a long WALE of
6.1 years. Upon completion of this deal, A-REIT will benefit immediately
through having operational scale and earnings, and tenant diversity.
With average rental escalations of 3.3% p.a., A-REIT is able to derive
steady earnings growth in the medium term.
3% DPU accretion assumed (vs guidance of 3.0%-3.5%) helped
by attractive funding rates. A-REIT intends to fund the acquisition
through a mix of debt and new perpetual securities (60%:40% ratio);
the latter is likely to be opportunistic, given the current appetite for
yield in the capital markets. We assume debt funding cost of 3.5% and
a coupon of 5.0% for the perpetual securities, which we believe are
attractive. While returns from this acquisition is likely to be stable,
upside will be driven by the Manager’s ability to raise occupancy
(94.4% currently) from completion of discussions for 4 leases totalling
28k sqm of space, which could add another 0.2ppt to returns. In
addition, we believe that a stabilisation in the current low AUD-SGD
exchange rate will further enhance returns in the medium term.
Upgrade to BUY, TP raised to S$2.45. We see value emerging after
recent stock retracement. While the market may frown on the
prospects of A-REIT losing its pure-Singapore play status with this
acquisition, we believe in the execution ability of the Manager and that
the Manager will maintain a conservative stance towards forex hedging
with overseas exposure (expected to be growing faster than SG) will be
limited to within 20%-30% of its portfolio. With total returns of >15%,
we upgrade A-REIT to BUY on a higher TP of S$2.45 as we factor in this
acquisition.

[Dividend Warrior]

Seems like logistics is still a growing sector...

[butcher]

Ascendas REIT (AREIT SP): SGD02.23 BUY (TP: SGD2.35)

Makes Maiden Acquisition In Australia

Maintain BUY with a TP of SGD2.35 (5% upside), implying a total return of 12.3%. Ascendas REIT announced its maiden acquisition in Australia involving a portfolio of 26 industrial assets across four major cities. The acquisition is expected to boost its DPU to 3.5% from 3.0%, while the REIT could be funding the purchase via debt and perpetual securities. We think that the price tag for the acquisition is reasonable and see potential growth as occupancy levels improve in the near term.

Maiden acquisition in Australia. Ascendas REIT has made its first acquisitions in Australia – a portfolio of 26 industrial assets across four major cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth) for a total sum of AUD1.0bn (SGD1.0bn), which equals a 4.6% NPI yield. We note that the acquisition was purchased from the real estate arm of Government of Singapore Investment (GIC) and Frasers Property Australia, previously known as Australand. Its portfolio occupancy rate is at a healthy 94.4%, with a long weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 6.1 years.

Acquisition price is reasonable. While the acquisition was not priced attractively for Ascendas REIT, the amount fell within a reasonable range, as: i) the portfolio’s mean building age is young, at 6.4 years, ii) it has blue-chip tenants such as Westfarmers (one of Australia’s largest retailers), Mondelex (formerly Kraft Foods) and Nestle, and iii) tenant leases are based on a triple net lease structure.

How does this impact the giant industrial landlord overall? We estimate a DPU accretion of approximately 3.0-3.5% based on a capital structure of approximately 60:40 in debt and perpetual securities. In addition, we see potential upsides on this acquisition from: i) occupancy rate improvements, and ii) a potential expansion of 28,430 sq m.

Maintain BUY on a still-attractive stock.The REIT has SGD23.7m and SGD101.6m worth of development and asset enhancement works respectively due for completion by 2Q16 to buffer downside risks. We like Ascendas REIT for its well-diversified income stream and business park exposure. It is also an industrial bulwark with a A3-credit rating, that allows it to make longer-term borrowings vs its peers. Maintain BUY, with a TP of SGD2.35.

To access the report, please click on the following link: Ascendas REIT : Makes Maiden Acquisition In Australia

Best Regards
Ivan Looi
+65 6232 3841
ivan.looi@rhbgroup.com
Ong Kian Lin
+65 6232 3896
ong.kian.lin@rhbgroup.com

[greengiraffe]

Ascendas REIT (AREIT SP): SGD02.23                                                                   BUY (TP: SGD2.35)

Makes Maiden Acquisition In Australia

Maintain BUY with a TP of SGD2.35 (5% upside), implying a total return of 12.3%. Ascendas REIT announced its maiden acquisition in Australia involving a portfolio of 26 industrial assets across four major cities. The acquisition is expected to boost its DPU to 3.5% from 3.0%, while the REIT could be funding the purchase via debt and perpetual securities. We think that the price tag for the acquisition is reasonable and see potential growth as occupancy levels improve in the near term.

Maiden acquisition in Australia. Ascendas REIT has made its first acquisitions in Australia – a portfolio of 26 industrial assets across four major cities (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth) for a total sum of AUD1.0bn (SGD1.0bn), which equals a 4.6% NPI yield. We note that the acquisition was purchased from the real estate arm of Government of Singapore Investment (GIC) and Frasers Property Australia, previously known as Australand. Its portfolio occupancy rate is at a healthy 94.4%, with a long weighted average lease expiry (WALE) of 6.1 years.

Acquisition price is reasonable. While the acquisition was not priced attractively for Ascendas REIT, the amount fell within a reasonable range, as: i) the portfolio’s mean building age is young, at 6.4 years, ii) it has blue-chip tenants such as Westfarmers (one of Australia’s largest retailers), Mondelex (formerly Kraft Foods) and Nestle, and iii) tenant leases are based on a triple net lease structure.

How does this impact the giant industrial landlord overall? We estimate a DPU accretion of approximately 3.0-3.5% based on a capital structure of approximately 60:40 in debt and perpetual securities. In addition, we see potential upsides on this acquisition from: i) occupancy rate improvements, and ii) a potential expansion of 28,430 sq m.

Maintain BUY on a still-attractive stock.The REIT has SGD23.7m and SGD101.6m worth of development and asset enhancement works respectively due for completion by 2Q16 to buffer downside risks.  We like Ascendas REIT for its well-diversified income stream and business park exposure. It is also an industrial bulwark with a A3-credit rating, that allows it to make longer-term borrowings vs its peers. Maintain BUY, with a TP of SGD2.35.  

To access the report, please click on the following link: Ascendas REIT : Makes Maiden Acquisition In Australia

Best Regards
Ivan Looi
+65 6232 3841
ivan.looi@rhbgroup.com
Ong Kian Lin
+65 6232 3896
ong.kian.lin@rhbgroup.com

Ascendas REIT, cimb upgrades to ADD (from HOLD) with TP S$2.57 (from S$2.52)
=Maiden venture into Australia
=Becomes Australia’s 8th largest logistics property owner with A$1.013bn acquisition.
=Well located (within 40km of the central business districts), with strong tenant base including blue chip names.
=To be funded via 60/40 combination of onshore debt and perpetual securities.
=Visible, sustainable organic growth from longer blended WALE, built-in rental escalation and room for GFA expansion.
=Upgrade from Hold to Add with revised DDM-based target price of S$2.57 .
=Maiden foray into Australian logistics properties market
=A-REIT is proposing to acquire A$1.013bn worth of prime grade logistics properties in Australia from vendors GIC and Frasers Property Australia. The portfolio comprises 26 properties with 603,946sm GFA spread across Sydney (33% of GFA), Melbourne (42%), Brisbane and Perth (25%). The portfolio is 94.4% occupied, with WALE of 6.1 years. All the properties are located within 40km of the respective central business districts. The portfolio has quality tenants such as Wesfarmers, CEVA Logistics, Nestle and Linfox.
=Acquisition NPI yield of 6.4%
=The purchase price of A$1.013bn (total cost A$1.073bn) is at a 6.6% premium over independent valuation and translates into 6.4% post-tax NPI yield. It will be funded by a combination of onshore debt (60%) and perpetual securities (40%). This will increase the group’s net gearing from 34.7% to 37.3% and keep its overall long-term leverage ratio below 40%.
=Extending reach and diversification, with visible organic growth
=The acquisition propels A-REIT to the eighth-largest logistics property owner in the country and gives it strong foothold in a deep and mature market with strong population growth, rising consumption and a well-organised logistics sector. Market occupancy is also expected to stay high, given low incoming supply. The deal will diversify A-REIT’s portfolio (14% of asset value located overseas), provide sustainable income with longer blended WALE of four years and inbuilt 3.3% pa rental escalation structure.
=Further earnings uplift from occupancy and GFA expansion
=There is also potential for further earnings upside from boosting occupancy to 98.3%, when the 62 Stradbroke St property is leased. Furthermore, there is room to enhance portfolio GFA by 28,430sm (c.5%) in the medium term, should existing tenants exercise the option of expanding their floor space.
=Upgrade from Hold to Add
=We raise FY16 and FY17 DPU by 1.9-5.5% on acquisition accretion, based on an assumed interest cost of 4.5% for the perpetual securities. We view A-REIT’s transaction positively, as this provides the trust with scale and a platform to expand through partnerships with real estate partners in Australia. Our revised DDM-backed target price of S$2.57 (cost of equity raised to 8%) offers potential upside of 15%.

Ascendas REIT, cs maintains OUTPERFORMS with TP S$2.60 (from S$2.59)
=Paying up for quality in Australia
=AREIT announced the proposed acquisition of 26 logistics assets in Australia (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Perth) from GIC and Frasers Property for a total cost of A$1,077.8 mn. The deal is expected to be completed in 4Q CY15.
=The assets come with an average WALE of 6.1 years (vs. AREIT's portfolio of 3.7 years), high quality tenants (e.g. Wesfarmers, Mondelez, Pacific Brands, API, Nestlé, and Officemax) and fixed annual escalations of +3.3% built into the leases.
=The valuation of 6.4% NPI yield (6.0% yield on total cost) is "rich" given the range of recent industrial transactions between 6.0% and 9.0%, but the quality of the portfolio is high. Management will look to fund the acquisition via a 60:40 combination of debt and perpetuals, implying a funding cost of ~4.2%.
=Maintain OUTPERFORM; we have raised our FY16-18 DPU estimates by 1.4-3.2%, factoring in the accretion from the Australian assets. We also factor in a higher cost of equity given the increased international exposure; our new target price is S$2.60 (from S$2.59) implying a total return of 24%.

Ascendas REIT, nomura maintains BUY with TP S$2.52 (from S$2.70)
=Further acquisitive growth still on cards
=Maintain Buy with lower TP of SGD2.52
=Action/catalyst: Buy; further acquisitive growth still on cards
=We reiterate our Buy rating for AREIT with a lower TP of SGD2.52 (from SGD2.70; chiefly on account of higher initial yield on the SG assets and lower potential value accretion from acquisitions). Our TP implies a potential total return of 19.5%, including FY16F yield of 6.5%.
=While we had expected AREIT to be more aggressive in pursuing acquisitive growth in 2015, we had thought the potential targets could be the sponsor’s pipeline assets rather than third-party properties in Australia.
=We estimate DPU accretion of 3.3% from the AUD1bn Australian acquisition announced on 18 September. While this is lower than what we had expected in our previous valuation, a DPU accretion of 3.3% is still decent nonetheless in our view. Importantly, the resultant gearing of 37.1% (from 34.7%) leaves headroom of SGD500mn for AREIT to fully debt-fund further acquisitive growth before hitting 40% leverage.
=Valuation: FY17F yield of 7.2% in line with trough valuation since 2010
=The Australian acquisition is expected tfao be completed in 4Q2015, with full earnings impact only in FYE March 2017F. Our FY17F DPU forecast of 16.2Scts implies a yield of 7.2% at the current unit price, which is in line with previous peak yield levels (trough valuation) since 2010 (Figure 7).

[greengiraffe]

• Sep 25 2015 at 3:18 PM 
   
  
  
•  Updated Sep 25 2015 at 11:19 PM 
  

Ascendas tours outback then snaps up GIC, Frasers portfolio

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NaN of
[img=620x0]http://www.afr.com/content/dam/images/g/j/v/4/a/l/image.related.afrArticleLead.620x350.gjuhc5.png/1443187161744.jpg[/img]Kmart Distribution Centre at Eastern Creek. One of 26 logistics properties that were part of the $1 billion deal.
by Mercedes Ruehl, Joyce Moullakis, Robert Harley
It's not every day that a major Singaporean company shows up at a big shed in the sparsely populated, mostly bushland suburb of Larapinta, Queensland. But if Ascendas, a big player in global real estate, was going to pay more than a $1 billion to own said shed and 25 others around Australia, the group wanted to know exactly what it was getting.
Within a month, Ascendas had bought the property – and the rest of the portfolio – in what is the biggest logistics transaction in Australia to date and, at a yield of 6.4 per cent, one of the most keenly priced. Sheds, as they known in the industry, are massive and modern logistics facilities used by some of Australia's largest companies.
The properties were owned by sovereign Singaporean fund GIC Real Estate and Frasers Australand. The sale, while officially kicked off in May this year, has been more than a year in the making. GIC, which owned 90 per cent of the portfolio, had also considered a float but commercial real estate prices were seen as being too good not to sell. In the end GIC was proved right.
Ascendas announced on September 18 it would acquire the portfolio for $1.073 billion, becoming the eighth-biggest industrial landlord in Australia.

Leading the charge from the GIC side were real estate vice-president Bart Price and associate Ei Mun Chuah.
COMPLICATED SALE
Like all big sales, it was complex. GIC started building its portfolio back in 2010, when it acquired about $220 million worth of industrial property from Salta Properties. Between 2010 and 2013 it acquired another $200 million in assets as well as striking a $400 million joint venture deal with Australand Property Group, now Frasers Australia. 
GIC wanted to sell everything together to one party and enlisted JLL and Colliers International to find such a buyer. JLL spent almost four weeks before launch on May 18 writing a comprehensive business report – or white paper – for investing in Australian logistics.


On May 17 JLL's industrial and corporate finance teams, led by Chris Key and Michael Fenton, set off on a 2½-week overseas investor roadshow. There were 55 meetings across Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, Chicago, Dallas, New York, London and the Middle East.
On the home front, Colliers International's industrial team, led by Malcom Tyson, Tony Iuliano and Gavin Bishop, sounded out the local players who would have the capacity to buy such a big portfolio. More than 30 groups went through to the data room and 15 bid for the portfolio by July 8.
Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust's head of business development Patricia Goh and her team had rolled up their sleeves. Locally, they turned to Minter Ellision to help out, with partners David Inglis, Anthony Poynton and Alberto Colla among them. 
Allen & Gledhill advised on Singaporean aspects. The suitors dubbed the deal Project Long Beach, after a renowned restaurant which claims to have created "the original and the best" black pepper crab in Singapore. The code name also tied in nicely with the east coast of Australia, where most of the assets in focus are.  

NO LOCALS ON SHORTLIST
A shortlist of bidders was drawn up within five days of the sale opening, although not one local group made the cut. Using higher gearing – Ascendas will have $600 million in debt – the international buyers simply outgunned the locals.
The shortlist included LOGOS Property, which is based locally but had financial backing from Ivanhoe Cambridge, a subsidiary of Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec. The others were Ascendas, ARA Asset Management with Cache Logistics Trust and Korea's NPS, Warburg Pincus with the Redwood Group and private equity giant Blackstone. Offshore groups could take on more debt and many were willing to pay a premium to achieve instant scale. 
Then the bidders were given the chance to visit the properties. From Eastern Creek in Sydney, to Altona North in Melbourne, to Larapinta in Queensland, it took each group a week to see the 26 properties.

Second-round bids were so close that parties were asked to go into a third round and make a final offer on July 29.
The shortlist was whittled down to three: Ascendas, ARA Asset Management and Warburg Pincus. In the end, the decision was made by each bidder to price the properties individually. Because there were two owners – GIC and Frasers – it was the only way to work out which offer was best for both. 
After frantic number-crunching into the late hours of August 4, Ascendas emerged as the clear frontrunner. 
There were five additional and intensive weeks of work on the deal, the parties not finishing the agreement until 2am on the Friday it was announced. All involved were relieved. But dinner at Long Beach would have to wait, until deal completion, including the approval of Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board.

[banker]

• Sep 25 2015 at 3:18 PM 
   
  
  
•  Updated Sep 25 2015 at 11:19 PM 
  

Ascendas tours outback then snaps up GIC, Frasers portfolio

• Share via Email

NaN of
[img=620x0]http://www.afr.com/content/dam/images/g/j/v/4/a/l/image.related.afrArticleLead.620x350.gjuhc5.png/1443187161744.jpg[/img]Kmart Distribution Centre at Eastern Creek. One of 26 logistics properties that were part of the $1 billion deal.
by Mercedes Ruehl, Joyce Moullakis, Robert Harley
It's not every day that a major Singaporean company shows up at a big shed in the sparsely populated, mostly bushland suburb of Larapinta, Queensland. But if Ascendas, a big player in global real estate, was going to pay more than a $1 billion to own said shed and 25 others around Australia, the group wanted to know exactly what it was getting.
Within a month, Ascendas had bought the property – and the rest of the portfolio – in what is the biggest logistics transaction in Australia to date and, at a yield of 6.4 per cent, one of the most keenly priced. Sheds, as they known in the industry, are massive and modern logistics facilities used by some of Australia's largest companies.
The properties were owned by sovereign Singaporean fund GIC Real Estate and Frasers Australand. The sale, while officially kicked off in May this year, has been more than a year in the making. GIC, which owned 90 per cent of the portfolio, had also considered a float but commercial real estate prices were seen as being too good not to sell. In the end GIC was proved right.
Ascendas announced on September 18 it would acquire the portfolio for $1.073 billion, becoming the eighth-biggest industrial landlord in Australia.

Leading the charge from the GIC side were real estate vice-president Bart Price and associate Ei Mun Chuah.
COMPLICATED SALE
Like all big sales, it was complex. GIC started building its portfolio back in 2010, when it acquired about $220 million worth of industrial property from Salta Properties. Between 2010 and 2013 it acquired another $200 million in assets as well as striking a $400 million joint venture deal with Australand Property Group, now Frasers Australia. 
GIC wanted to sell everything together to one party and enlisted JLL and Colliers International to find such a buyer. JLL spent almost four weeks before launch on May 18 writing a comprehensive business report – or white paper – for investing in Australian logistics.


On May 17 JLL's industrial and corporate finance teams, led by Chris Key and Michael Fenton, set off on a 2½-week overseas investor roadshow. There were 55 meetings across Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, Chicago, Dallas, New York, London and the Middle East.
On the home front, Colliers International's industrial team, led by Malcom Tyson, Tony Iuliano and Gavin Bishop, sounded out the local players who would have the capacity to buy such a big portfolio. More than 30 groups went through to the data room and 15 bid for the portfolio by July 8.
Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust's head of business development Patricia Goh and her team had rolled up their sleeves. Locally, they turned to Minter Ellision to help out, with partners David Inglis, Anthony Poynton and Alberto Colla among them. 
Allen & Gledhill advised on Singaporean aspects. The suitors dubbed the deal Project Long Beach, after a renowned restaurant which claims to have created "the original and the best" black pepper crab in Singapore. The code name also tied in nicely with the east coast of Australia, where most of the assets in focus are.  

NO LOCALS ON SHORTLIST
A shortlist of bidders was drawn up within five days of the sale opening, although not one local group made the cut. Using higher gearing – Ascendas will have $600 million in debt – the international buyers simply outgunned the locals.
The shortlist included LOGOS Property, which is based locally but had financial backing from Ivanhoe Cambridge, a subsidiary of Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec. The others were Ascendas, ARA Asset Management with Cache Logistics Trust and Korea's NPS, Warburg Pincus with the Redwood Group and private equity giant Blackstone. Offshore groups could take on more debt and many were willing to pay a premium to achieve instant scale. 
Then the bidders were given the chance to visit the properties. From Eastern Creek in Sydney, to Altona North in Melbourne, to Larapinta in Queensland, it took each group a week to see the 26 properties.

Second-round bids were so close that parties were asked to go into a third round and make a final offer on July 29.
The shortlist was whittled down to three: Ascendas, ARA Asset Management and Warburg Pincus. In the end, the decision was made by each bidder to price the properties individually. Because there were two owners – GIC and Frasers – it was the only way to work out which offer was best for both. 
After frantic number-crunching into the late hours of August 4, Ascendas emerged as the clear frontrunner. 
There were five additional and intensive weeks of work on the deal, the parties not finishing the agreement until 2am on the Friday it was announced. All involved were relieved. But dinner at Long Beach would have to wait, until deal completion, including the approval of Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board.

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• Sep 25 2015 at 3:18 PM 
   
  
  
•  Updated Sep 25 2015 at 11:19 PM 
  

Ascendas tours outback then snaps up GIC, Frasers portfolio

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[img=620x0]http://www.afr.com/content/dam/images/g/j/v/4/a/l/image.related.afrArticleLead.620x350.gjuhc5.png/1443187161744.jpg[/img]Kmart Distribution Centre at Eastern Creek. One of 26 logistics properties that were part of the $1 billion deal.
by Mercedes Ruehl, Joyce Moullakis, Robert Harley
It's not every day that a major Singaporean company shows up at a big shed in the sparsely populated, mostly bushland suburb of Larapinta, Queensland. But if Ascendas, a big player in global real estate, was going to pay more than a $1 billion to own said shed and 25 others around Australia, the group wanted to know exactly what it was getting.
Within a month, Ascendas had bought the property – and the rest of the portfolio – in what is the biggest logistics transaction in Australia to date and, at a yield of 6.4 per cent, one of the most keenly priced. Sheds, as they known in the industry, are massive and modern logistics facilities used by some of Australia's largest companies.
The properties were owned by sovereign Singaporean fund GIC Real Estate and Frasers Australand. The sale, while officially kicked off in May this year, has been more than a year in the making. GIC, which owned 90 per cent of the portfolio, had also considered a float but commercial real estate prices were seen as being too good not to sell. In the end GIC was proved right.
Ascendas announced on September 18 it would acquire the portfolio for $1.073 billion, becoming the eighth-biggest industrial landlord in Australia.

Leading the charge from the GIC side were real estate vice-president Bart Price and associate Ei Mun Chuah.
COMPLICATED SALE
Like all big sales, it was complex. GIC started building its portfolio back in 2010, when it acquired about $220 million worth of industrial property from Salta Properties. Between 2010 and 2013 it acquired another $200 million in assets as well as striking a $400 million joint venture deal with Australand Property Group, now Frasers Australia. 
GIC wanted to sell everything together to one party and enlisted JLL and Colliers International to find such a buyer. JLL spent almost four weeks before launch on May 18 writing a comprehensive business report – or white paper – for investing in Australian logistics.


On May 17 JLL's industrial and corporate finance teams, led by Chris Key and Michael Fenton, set off on a 2½-week overseas investor roadshow. There were 55 meetings across Singapore, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul, Chicago, Dallas, New York, London and the Middle East.
On the home front, Colliers International's industrial team, led by Malcom Tyson, Tony Iuliano and Gavin Bishop, sounded out the local players who would have the capacity to buy such a big portfolio. More than 30 groups went through to the data room and 15 bid for the portfolio by July 8.
Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust's head of business development Patricia Goh and her team had rolled up their sleeves. Locally, they turned to Minter Ellision to help out, with partners David Inglis, Anthony Poynton and Alberto Colla among them. 
Allen & Gledhill advised on Singaporean aspects. The suitors dubbed the deal Project Long Beach, after a renowned restaurant which claims to have created "the original and the best" black pepper crab in Singapore. The code name also tied in nicely with the east coast of Australia, where most of the assets in focus are.  

NO LOCALS ON SHORTLIST
A shortlist of bidders was drawn up within five days of the sale opening, although not one local group made the cut. Using higher gearing – Ascendas will have $600 million in debt – the international buyers simply outgunned the locals.
The shortlist included LOGOS Property, which is based locally but had financial backing from Ivanhoe Cambridge, a subsidiary of Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec. The others were Ascendas, ARA Asset Management with Cache Logistics Trust and Korea's NPS, Warburg Pincus with the Redwood Group and private equity giant Blackstone. Offshore groups could take on more debt and many were willing to pay a premium to achieve instant scale. 
Then the bidders were given the chance to visit the properties. From Eastern Creek in Sydney, to Altona North in Melbourne, to Larapinta in Queensland, it took each group a week to see the 26 properties.

Second-round bids were so close that parties were asked to go into a third round and make a final offer on July 29.
The shortlist was whittled down to three: Ascendas, ARA Asset Management and Warburg Pincus. In the end, the decision was made by each bidder to price the properties individually. Because there were two owners – GIC and Frasers – it was the only way to work out which offer was best for both. 
After frantic number-crunching into the late hours of August 4, Ascendas emerged as the clear frontrunner. 
There were five additional and intensive weeks of work on the deal, the parties not finishing the agreement until 2am on the Friday it was announced. All involved were relieved. But dinner at Long Beach would have to wait, until deal completion, including the approval of Australia's Foreign Investment Review Board.

GLP turning green doing samba dance...