Propertylink has launched a AUD755m (€467m) offer for all outstanding shares of Centuria Industrial REIT (CIP) after an overnight raid to grab more than 12% stake.
Sydney-based Propertylink is offering 2.5327 Propertylink securities and AUD0.33 cash (33 cents) for each CIP unit.
Propertylink said its offer is subject to conditions, among them that Propertylink acquires at least 50.1% of all CIP units.
Centuria Capital Group holds a 19.9% in CIP, while its long-term partner, Paul Lederer, has a 9.4% stake. They could potentially use their combined holding of nearly 30% to block Propertylink’s takeover attempt.
The regional logistics group ESR, backed by Warburg Pincus, is the single largest shareholder in both Propertylink and Centuria Capital. The position of ESR is unclear at this stage.
If accepted, the deal will transform Propertylink into Australia’s largest listed passive pure-play industrial trust, managing a combined industrial portfolio of AUD2.2bn.
Stuart Dawes, Propertylink’s managing director and CEO, said: “An acquisition of CIP would more than double the size of our wholly-owned industrial portfolio, in particular providing our security-holders with greater exposure to the Sydney and Melbourne industrial markets.”
