Embassy REIT buys Bengaluru business park for US$1.3bn and other APAC REIT news

Mumbai-listed Embassy Office Park REIT has agreed to acquire the Embassy TechVillage business park in Bengaluru from its sponsors for ₹98bn (US$1.3bn).

Situated on the Outer Ring Road, the 9.2m sq.ft. business park is home to over 45,000 employees from more than 40 corporate occupiers, including JP Morgan, Cisco, Sony and Flipkart.

The property currently has 6.1m sq.ft. of completed area and about 3.1m sq.ft. of space under construction, of which 36% is pre-leased to JP Morgan. The deal also includes two proposed 518-room Hilton hotels.

Embassy TechVillage
Embassy TechVillage

“The acquisition further deepens our presence in Bengaluru, which remains India’s strongest office market, and significantly enhances our scale and ability to deliver embedded growth,” said Embassy REIT CEO Mike Holland.

“We are delighted to purchase an asset of the quality and scale of ETV at a 4.6% discount to the average of the two independent valuations.”

The REIT plans to fund the deal by issuing about ₹60bn (US$812m) of equity through a combination of an institutional placement of around ₹37bn, and a ₹23bn preferential issue of units to third-party selling shareholders.

Shares in Embassy Office Park REIT closed 0.18% lower at ₹338.30 on Tuesday.
Centuria Industrial REIT snaps up cold storage portfolio for A$171m

ASX-listed Centuria Industrial REIT has purchased three cold store industrial facilities across Australia’s east coast for A$171.1m, reflecting an average initial yield of 5.62%.

The deal comprises a 25,418 sq.m. facility in Girraween, New South Wales and two assets totalling 20,000 sq.m. in Derrimut, Victoria and Parkinson, Queensland.

The assets are fully occupied by national and international operators and provide an average 6.4-year WALE, while the deal expands CIP’s portfolio to 59 assets worth A$2.3bn.

“The cold storage portfolio acquisition leverages a key growth focus for CIP to acquire assets supporting non-discretionary, food and pharmaceutical distribution and refrigerated logistics industries,” said CIP fund manager Jesse Curtis.

“These industries are experiencing strong tailwinds underpinned by a rapid increase in online food sales creating favourable supply and demand dynamics.”

CIP shares finished trading flat at A$3.15 on Tuesday.

This article was first published on APAC Real Estate on 17 November 2020.