Its acquisition of HK-listed outfit’s property business will double its China portfolio
CapitaLand has agreed to buy the entire property business of Hong Kong-listed Orient Overseas (International) Ltd for US$2.2 billion, it said yesterday.
CapitaLand chief executive Liew Mun Leong said that this could very well be the largest real estate transaction in Singapore’s history.
Under the deal, CapitaLand will acquire a real estate business with a portfolio of seven sites located in Shanghai, Kunshan and Tianjin.
The sites, which comprise a mix of residential and serviced residences sites as well as plots with integrated development potential, are in various stages of planning and development.
CapitaLand, which is South-east Asia’s largest developer, will pay for the purchase from its existing cash, a significant portion of which arose when it spun off and listed its retail arm CapitaMalls Asia last year. CapitaLand raised net proceeds of S$2.7 billion from the public offer.
The transaction price takes into account the portfolio value of the seven sites of about US$2 billion as well as the cash within the business of around US$262 million.
CapitaLand won the right to buy the property after a closed tender by Orient Overseas (International) Ltd, which is divesting its property interests to focus on its core shipping business. CapitaLand was invited to bid for the assets in November 2009 and submitted the bid on Jan 8.
The company said it did not know how many bidders there were, or if its bid was the highest. But Hong Kong media reports said there were about about five bidders.
‘This proposed acquisition is timely and an excellent strategic fit for CapitaLand,’ said CapitaLand chairman Richard Hu in a statement. ‘It also fits into our stated goal of growing our asset size in China from the present 28 per cent of total assets to 45 per cent over the next five years as we remain very confident of the long term future of the country.’
The acquisition will double CapitaLand’s China property portfolio from 1.4 million square metres to 2.8 million sq m and increase the asset size in the country to around 36 per cent of the group’s total assets. The deal is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2010.
Added Mr Liew: ‘The major assets are in the city centre where there is currently very limited supply of such land in the market. Most of the sites have planning and land use approval while some sites have construction permits in place. This is a large development advantage in China and should command a price premium.’
Analysts said that the news appears to be positive for the property group, although they pointed out that shareholders who were hoping for a bumper payout might be disappointed.
Following the IPO of CapitaMalls Asia last year, CapitaLand said that part of the proceeds will be paid out as a special dividend to the group’s shareholders – but only after the business plans and capital requirements of the group’s other business units had been taken into consideration.
‘We did say that the special dividend will be subject to investment decisions,’ said chief financial officer Olivier Lim yesterday.
‘The acquisition is positive for CapitaLand,’ said UOB Kay Hian analyst Vikrant Pandey. ‘They (shareholders) may not get as large a special dividend but the re-investment will get them decent returns over a longer term.’
The purchase should contribute to CapitaLand’s earnings for its 2010 financial year, Mr Pandey said. This is because a serviced residence/hotel project on one of the sites is already operational.
In a note to clients, CIMB-GK Research said that news of the acquisition reflects CapitaLand’s pro-active stance in redeploying its capital into net asset value productive assets. ‘This aspect of CapitaLand’s strategy was lacking in 2009,’ said the report.
Assuming the acquisition was completed on Sept 30, 2009, the pro forma net debt-to-equity ratio would be 0.3 times and the pro forma cash balance would be $5.5 billion, CapitaLand said.
CapitaLand’s shares, which were suspended from trading yesterday, will resume trading today. The stock closed 2 cents up at $4.28 last Friday.
Source: Business Times, 19 Jan 2010
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