European industrial and urban warehouse real estate investment trust (REIT) Segro is buying smaller London-listed peer Tritax EuroBox in a £1.1bn (€1.3bn) deal.
Segro is offering Tritax EuroBox shareholders 0.0765 per new Segro share to exchange each share they hold as part of the transaction which includes Tritax EuroBox shareholders receiving and retaining their interim dividends.
Based on the last closing price of 880p for Segro’s shares, each Tritax EuroBox share is worth 68.4p in the offer. The deal values Tritax EuroBox at about £552m, giving the company a total value, including its debt, of around £1.1bn.
Segro, which also has a Euronext Paris listing, has a market capitalisation of £11.9bn. The company is an owner, manager and developer of warehouses and industrial property, with assets under management of 10.8m sqm valued at £20.6bn. Tritax EuroBox is a specialist investor in continental European logistics real estate with a portfolio of 1.5m sqm of space valued at approximately €1.5bn.
The board of Tritax EuroBox said it believes that the deal with Segro is a great opportunity for shareholders to “achieve a significant and immediate uplift in the value of their investment”. They recommend that shareholders vote in favour of the deal.
David Sleath, the CEO of Segro, said: “This transaction offers the opportunity to acquire a high quality portfolio of big box warehouses in core European markets which would complement and enhance our existing assets.
“The management of the portfolio will be internalised on completion, taking advantage of economies of scale from our existing, locally-based operating platform.”
Robert Orr, the chair of Tritax EuroBox, said the transaction represents an opportunity for Tritax EuroBox shareholders to achieve a “significant and immediate uplift in the value of their investment and stronger total shareholder returns, with the option either to retain exposure to the European industrial and logistics sector through holding shares in the largest and most liquid REIT in Europe, or to sell their new Segro shares for cash”.
“The board is pleased to recommend the transaction to Tritax EuroBox shareholders.”
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