CapitaLand Ascendas Reit to acquire 3 Singapore properties for $565.8 million
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The Reit is expanding its Singapore portfolio with the acquisition of three fully occupied industrial and logistics assets, including 9 Kallang Sector.
PHOTO: CAPITALAND ASCENDAS REIT
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SINGAPORE – The manager of CapitaLand Ascendas Reit on Oct 7 announced the proposed acquisition of three Singapore properties from Vita Partners for about $565.8 million.
The price tag includes estimated upfront land and enhancement premiums of $33.2 million, with the acquisitions expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2026. It is a 3.9 per cent discount to the total valuation of $589 million.
The properties to be acquired are 2 Pioneer Sector 1, a ramp-up logistics property; Tuas Connection, a light industrial property; and 9 Kallang Sector, a high-specifications industrial property.
The distribution per unit would have risen by about 0.124 cent, or 0.8 per cent, for the 2024 financial year, assuming the acquisitions had been completed at the start of the year and funded with 40 per cent debt and 60 per cent equity.
“These accretive acquisitions build on our recent acquisitions of a Tier III co-location data centre and a premium business space property, which were completed in August 2025,” said Mr William Tay, executive director and chief executive of the Reit’s manager. “This strong lease profile is a rare and attractive opportunity in Singapore’s industrial property market.”
The Reit is expected to incur an estimated total investment cost of $592.6 million, after including fees and expenses. It will be financed through a combination of internal resources and existing debt facilities, if required.
The seller, Vita Partners, is a joint venture between Warburg Pincus and Lendlease that is focused on life sciences, innovation real estate and research and development.
“This divestment reflects our ongoing commitment to unlocking value through disciplined asset management and strategic exits,” Vita Partners CEO Bart Price said.
The properties are fully occupied by tenants in the technology, logistics and life sciences industries, with a weighted average lease expiry of 5½ years and built-in rental escalations, ranging from 1 per cent to 5 per cent a year. The in-place rents are about 15 per cent below current market rents.
The acquisitions will increase the value of the Reit’s Singapore portfolio to about $12.3 billion, which will account for 68 per cent of the real estate investment trust’s total assets under management as at June 30. So far in 2025, it has a total investment of about $1.3 billion in the Republic.
The expected first-year net property income yield of the three properties is about 6.4 per cent of pre-transaction costs and 6.1 per cent of post-transaction costs.
Mr Rimon Ambarchi, CBRE’s head of industrial and logistics for Singapore and South-east Asia, said: “With interest rates on a downward trajectory, investors are increasingly looking to deploy capital into defensive asset classes. Industrial real estate, with its stable returns and widening yield spreads, is firmly on their radar.”
CapitaLand Ascendas Reit units closed trading up 0.35 per cent, or one cent, at $2.86 on Oct 7. THE BUSINESS TIMES
