Canadian pension fund enters housing joint venture with China Vanke
GPT fund buys half of Melbourne shopping centre from Canadian fund
CFS Retail completes internalisation, Dexus takeover of office fund nears completion
Westfield organises funding for new group split
A-Reit shifts funds from euro to yen
Newly listed 360 Capital to list office fund separately
Canadian pension fund enters housing joint venture with China Vanke
The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board has formed a new venture with China’s largest residential developer, China Vanke Co Ltd, to invest $US250 million in the Chinese residential market over time.
The Canadian board’s senior vice-president of real estate investments, Graeme Eadie, said on Tuesday the venture would focus on new residential development projects in large cities where incomes are rising and economic fundamentals are strong.
“It is expected that these factors will provide significant demand for middle-income housing. To seed the venture, the board & Vanke are investing in a project in Qingdao, Shandong Province.”
China Vanke chairman Wang Shi.
Vanke was founded in 1984 by chairman Wang Shi, had revenue of $US22 billion in 2013 and has developments in 65 Chinese cities & 4 cities in other countries. It’s developed over 500,000 residential units and provides property management services to over 400 residential communities.
At 31 December 2013, the Canadian board had $C23.4 billion invested in Asia, representing 11.6% of its total portfolio, C$4.2 billion of the Asian investment is in real estate.
China Vanke entered the US property market in February 2013 when it signed a joint venture with Tishman Speyer LP, of New York, to develop 655 apartments in 2 joined towers in San Francisco.
Tishman Speyer has been a major commercial property developer in China. Its latest joint venture there, signed last September, is with Shanghai Lujiazui Group for 300,000m² of mixed-use development in the New Bund, south of the Shanghai Expo site in Pudong, featuring offices, upmarket retail & waterfront apartments.
China Vanke said on 4 March the China Securities Regulatory Commission had approved its request to transfer its listing of B shares in Shenzhen into H shares listed in Hong Kong. China Vanke will retain a listing for its A shares in Shenzhen.
Links:
Canada Pension Plan Investment Board
China Vanke
Tishman Speyer
GPT fund buys half of Melbourne shopping centre from Canadian fund
Australian property group GPT said on Thursday the GPT Wholesale Shopping Centre Fund had bought a 50% interest in the Northland Shopping Centre in Melbourne from the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board for $A496 million.
GPT chief executive & managing director Michael Cameron said the transaction represented an initial yield of 6.1% and a core capitalisation rate of 5.8%. It’s due to settle on Wednesday 30 April.
The super-regional centre 11km north of Melbourne’s cbd is co-owned & managed by CFS Retail Property Trust Group, which GPT unsuccessfully tried to take over (see next item). It has 91,536m² gross retail floor area, 3300m² office, 315 tenants, 4800 parking spaces, annual sales turnover of $A493 million
Link: GPT
CFS Retail completes internalisation, Dexus takeover of office fund nears completion
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia-controlled CFS Retail Property Trust completed its management internalisation last Monday, 24 March.
It was one of 3 property asset disposals the bank proposed last July. The first to be implemented was internalisation of Kiwi Income Property Trust’s management, which unitholders approved in December.
The second was the divestment of the $A3.9 billion Commonwealth Property Office Fund. The bank also proposed internalising this fund’s management last July, but Dexus Property Group swooped the next day, acquiring 14.9% of it by way of a forward contract, and thereby preventing anyone else from going to compulsory acquisition.
Another big ASX-listed property group, GPT, tried to buy the Commonwealth fund but gave up at the end of January. On 3 March, Dexus, partnered by the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, said it had over 90%. Its takeover will be completed on Friday 4 April.
The retail property trust’s internalisation included acquiring the bank’s retail property asset management business and the relevant entities to begin the investment management of a number of wholesale property funds.
The new-look trust will manage $A13.9 billion of assets, and has 28 directly owned retail assets, 15 strategic partners & 5000 retailers.
Former Kiwi Income Property Trust chief executive Angus McNaughton, who’s been Colonial’s property managing director, has become chief executive & managing director of the internalised entity.
Mr McNaughton said the 28 retail assets would remain the revenue driver: “We will maintain our existing focus on the intensive asset management of our directly owned shopping centres. This includes the redevelopment & strategic remixing of our assets to create a compelling retail offer, driving shopper traffic & sales.
“Internalisation will allow further enhancements to our strategy. A strategic partnerships business will be added to the trust, making our offer complete through the addition of wholesale property funds & mandates, and retail property asset management.”
Link: Colonial First State Global Asset Management
Westfield organises funding for new group split
The Westfield Group advanced its newest restructure this week, saying on Wednesday it had entered into funding commitments for $A22 billion of financing facilities which are required for the proposal to establish Westfield Corp and Scentre Group.
Westfield announced the proposal to rearrange the group & the Westfield Retail Trust in December. Scentre Group will own the combined Australia & New Zealand business and will be internally managed. The rest of the business – malls in the US, UK, Europe & Brazil – will become Westfield Corp.
Subject to court approval, Westfield will dispatch the securityholder booklet, including the independent expert’s report, in late April. The meeting to consider the proposal will be held on Thursday 29 May.
This week’s announcement followed the completion last week of the $US800 million acquisition of the remaining 50% of Westfield World Trade Centre and the conditional agreement to sell 3 assets in the UK for $A1.1 billion.
The $A22 billion of funding commitments includes $A14 billion of 2-year bridge facilities, with an option to extend by a further 12 months, and $A8 billion of 2- to 6-year bank facilities.
The present group & trust manage $A70 billion of assets in 90 malls containing 20,500 retail outlets.
Link: Westfield corporate
Earlier story, 8 December 2013: Westfield restructure up for approval next May
A-Reit shifts funds from euro to yen
Ascendas Funds Management (S) Ltd, the manager of Singapore’s A-Reit (the Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust, is moving $S395 million (€197.5 million) out of commercial mortgage-backed securities denominated in euros into floating rate yen notes.
A-Reit’s trustee has issued ¥5 billion of notes due in March 2021 to institutional & sophisticated investors. A swap agreement translates the proceeds into $S62.31 million.
Newly listed 360 Capital to list office fund separately
Australian syndicate manager 360 Capital Group Ltd continues to reshape the entities its investors are involved in, as it takes the 360 Capital Office Fund to an ASX listing 6 months after listing the parent group.
Former James Fielding Ltd executive Tony Pitt formed 360 Capital in 2006 to invest in direct property assets, property securities & various corporate real estate acquisitions on a private equity basis. The group expanded in 2010, when it bought the Becton residential & retirement village development group’s $A1 billion Becton Investment Management Ltd.
Last October, it obtained a backdoor listing on the ASX through the struggling Trafalgar Corporate Group. When it listed, 360 Capital Group managed 10 investment funds & trusts holding 28 industrial, office & retail assets valued at $A860 million on behalf of over 8500 investors. It also held $A91 million in co-investments in its managed funds and 2 direct assets valued at $A49 million.
360 Capital RE Ltd, the responsible entity for the 360 Capital Office Fund, said on Wednesday it had completed the institutional capital-raising component of the office fund’s fully underwritten $A155 million recapitalisation, restructure & listing proposal and trading in the new units was expected to open on Thursday 24 April.
It has an $A235 million portfolio of 4 assets, 99.6% leased, 36.5% gearing, distributions tax-deferred at about 65% and reflecting an 8.5% distribution yield on the $A2 issue price.
Link: Capital Group
Attribution: Canada Pension Plan board, China Vanke, Tishman Speyer, GPT, CFS, Dexus, Westfield, A-Reit, 360 Capital
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