Mapletree Ind Trust divests three local assets, realizing HKD 535 million
Mapletree Ind Trust has reached an agreement with Brookfield Asset Management to divest three industrial real estate projects in Singapore, realizing SGD 535 million. This transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter, with a sale price at a premium of 2.6% over the valuation. The management company stated that this divestment will help optimize asset allocation, maintain financial flexibility, and the proceeds will be used to repay debt and reduce leverage ratios. After the divestment, the trust's overall leverage ratio will decrease from 40.1% to 37%
Lü Lili, President of Mapletree Industrial Trust Management, said: "This strategic divestment aligns with our active asset management strategy, helps optimize asset allocation, and maintains financial flexibility to seize new investment opportunities with long-term sustainable return potential."
Mapletree Industrial Trust's stock price remained at SGD 1.94.
She also emphasized that even after this sale, Singapore assets will still be an important component of the trust's investment portfolio, accounting for approximately 44.4% of its total managed assets. She stated: "Singapore assets will continue to provide stability and growth momentum for our portfolio, and we will continue to drive the reshaping and rebalancing of the asset portfolio through selective divestments and value-added investments."
The trust pointed out that as of the end of March this year, on a pro forma basis, the divestment transaction will reduce the trust's aggregate leverage from 40.1% to 37%, and the interest coverage ratio will increase from 4.3 times to 5.1 times. "With ample debt capacity, this will allow the trust to build sufficient 'ammunition' to capture new investment opportunities that create value."
The trust stated that before redeploying the proceeds into asset enhancement plans, acquisitions, or redevelopment projects, the net proceeds from the proposed divestment will be used to repay debt, thereby reducing the overall leverage ratio and borrowing costs.
Mapletree Industrial Trust has reached an agreement with Brookfield Asset Management in Canada to divest three industrial real estate projects in Singapore for SGD 535.3 million. This divestment transaction is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year.
The three projects are The Strategy and The Synergy located in the International Business Park, and Woodlands Central Cluster located in Woodlands.
Mapletree Industrial Trust Management announced this news in a statement before the market opened on Friday (May 16), noting that the divestment price is a 2.6% premium over the combined valuation of the three industrial real estate projects of SGD 521.5 million, and is also 22.1% higher than Mapletree Industrial Trust's initial investment cost of SGD 438.4 million.
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