Global property group CDL has acquired a 51.01% stake in China’s Chongqing-based Sincere Property for RMB4.39bn (€570m).
CDL has also negotiated a call option, giving it the right to an additional 9% of Sincere Property for RMB770m by 2022.
Singapore-listed CDL said it had achieved an “attractive” entry valuation to Sincere Property of RMB8.60bn, a near-50% discount to the company’s unaudited net asset value of RMB16.48bn for its 2019 financial year.
“Given the adverse impact of the COVID-19 crisis and global uncertainty, CDL has taken the opportunity to negotiate new terms for its investment into Sincere Property,” CDL said, describing the new investment terms as “significantly improved” over those announced last year.
Sherman Kwek, CDL’s CEO, said that while there were challenges and uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, China remained one of CDL’s key overseas markets.
“Despite our relatively late entry into China’s real estate market only a decade ago, it will immediately accelerate CDL’s geographical presence from three to 18 cities in China.”
Wu Xu, Sincere Property’s chairman and founder, will see his stake reduce from 60% to 29%, while Greenland Holdings Group Co, a developer in China, will see its shareholding in Sincere Property decrease from 40% to 19.99%.
Wu, who founded Sincere Property more than two decades ago, will stay on with the company. His new role will be to focus on “agreed-upon priorities, such as capital management and portfolio recalibration initiatives to strengthen Sincere Property’s financial position and fundamentals”.
Sincere Property has a pipeline of 64 development projects, 27 investment properties and a landbank of 9.2m sqm of gross floor area, mostly located in China’s first-tier and second-tier cities.
CDL has a global network spanning 106 locations in 29 countries and regions. Its global portfolio includes the Millennium & Copthorne Hotels brand, which operates 156 hotels worldwide.
