SINGAPORE - CIMB Bank Bhd, Singapore Branch, has been appointed the independent financial adviser (IFA) to the directors of the trustee-manager of Croesus Retail Trust (CRT) on the takeover offer by The Blackstone Group.
US private equity firm Blackstone has made a cash offer to privatise CRT at S$1.17 per unit in an all-or-nothing deal.
The offer price implies a S$900.6 million equity value for the Japan-based retail business trust, which has a 113 billion yen (S$1.4 billion) portfolio of malls in Tokyo, Osaka, Hokkaido and other prefectures.
The buyout will be via a scheme of arrangement, also known as an "all-or-nothing" deal. Blackstone needs more than 50 per cent of voting unit holders representing at least 75 per cent in value of the total voting units to agree to the buyout, which is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of this year.
A scheme document containing full details of the scheme, including the advice of the IFA and the recommendation of the independent directors, will be sent to unit holders in due course, CRT's trustee-manager said in a filing with the Singapore Exchange on Tuesday night (July 4).
The Straits Times reported over the weekend that a crucial voter in Blackstone's bid had raised its stake in CRT but remains undecided on whether to tender its units to Blackstone. GKG Investment Holdings, which holds the single largest stake in Croesus, scooped up about nine million units for close to S$10.6 million at an average price of S$1.177 per unit last Wednesday.
