Keppel REIT, the second-biggest office property trust in Asia excluding Japan, is seeking buyers for its 30-storey Prudential Tower in Singapore’s financial district, Bloomberg News reported on Monday, citing two people familiar with the matter.
Keppel REIT owns a 92.8 per cent stake in the tower, which was valued at S$490 million as of Dec 31 by independent valuers, according to the company’s filing on Jan 20. The property is fully occupied, that report showed.
Keppel REIT is seeking S$2,400 a square foot for Prudential Tower, one of the sources said, declining to be identified as the information is private. The price would value the trust’s stake at S$531 million, based on the 221,241 square feet of space it owns in the building.
“Keppel REIT does from time to time receive interest to acquire our properties,” it said in an e-mailed response to Bloomberg News queries. “We will consider all potential divestments and acquisitions, and will make an announcement if and when any such deals materialize.”
The Singapore-based real estate investment trust is looking to sell older assets to help fund acquisitions, Chief Executive Ng Hsueh Ling told reporters on Jan 20. The REIT may approach Keppel Land, its biggest shareholder, to buy the developer’s stake in the city’s Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 3, she said.
Source : Today – 27 Jan 2014