Ascott REIT to acquire 28 properties

Ascott Residence Trust will acquire 28 European and Asian properties worth S$969.6 million from its parent company, The Ascott Ltd, which is a wholly-owned unit of CapitaLand, Southeast Asia’s largest property developer.

The company said it would fund the purchase of 26 European and 2 Asian properties through an equity fund raising worth S$560.6 million.

It added that the acquisition will double the company’s portfolio asset to S$2.85 billion, and the equity fund raising would increase its free float to S$665.3 million, up 73 percent from $385.3 million.

In turn, The Ascott will pay its REIT unit S$214 million for an entire stake in Ascott Beijing, a high-end serviced residence property.

With the acquisition of the European properties, Ascott Residence will become an international REIT, and this will lift its ranking in the Singapore REIT chart, from 12th up to 6th place.