A subsidiary of Singapore-based ARA Asset Management Limited (ARA) has agreed to acquire a 19.5% stake in real estate investor and manager Cromwell Property Group from Redefine Properties.
The deal is subject to foreign investment review board approval and certain other conditions.
'Redefine have been a longstanding investor and partner,' said Cromwell CEO Paul Weightman (pictured). 'They have been with us every step of the way since late 2009 and I would like to put on the record our appreciation of their input, expertise and insight.'
Cromwell recently released its half yearly (HY18) results, flagging increased investment in its funds management business.
This has included investment into Cromwell’s European funds platform which has €4 bn in assets under management (AUM), and its 35% sponsor stake in Cromwell European REIT (CEREIT). CEREIT listed on the main board of the Singapore Stock Exchange in November 2017.
Transformational investments
'I commented just last week that these investments would transform our business, and that Asia would be an increasing source of capital for value enhancing opportunities either in our property portfolio or our funds management business,' said Weightman.
ARA manages 11 public and private real estate investment trusts and nine private real estate funds with assets totalling around SGD 40 bn (€24.6 bn) in Asia Pacific. Already well established in the region, ARA recently embarked on its global expansion with the establishment of a European platform and has also increased its presence in Australia through various investments in the last few years.
'Asia Pacific remains a focus for ARA even as the company expands its footprint globally. We entered Australia in 2015 and have been steadily increasing our investments in the market over the last three years. Australia continues to offer strong investment and capital raising opportunities to support the growth of our funds platforms,' said John Lim, ARA’s Group CEO.
He added that ARa was attracted to the strength and depth of Cromwell's platforms, track record of value enhancing real estate strategies and strong corporate governance. 'We believe Cromwell will benefit from our deep network of capital partners.'
'Cromwell’s European platform has the capacity to deploy more than 50% more capital due to an extensive network of 200 real estate professionals in 20 offices across 12 countries,' concluded Weightman.
