Centurion shares jump as company mulls Reit listing for worker, student housing assets
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Centurion's Archer House student housing is near the University of Nottingham in England.
PHOTO: CENTURION CORP
Crystal Heng
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SINGAPORE - Centurion said it is exploring the establishment of a real estate investment trust (Reit) comprising some of its worker and student accommodation assets, sending its shares surging.
If the plan materialises, the Reit will be listed on the mainboard of the Singapore Exchange (SGX), subject to approval from the bourse and the Monetary Authority of Singapore, said the accommodation assets operator in a filing on Jan 7.
Centurion’s chief executive Kong Chee Min said it is also considering for shareholders a dividend in specie of some of the units in the proposed Reit held by the company. This is where a dividend is declared in cash but is satisfied by a transfer of assets.
Centurion is working with DBS Bank and the Singapore branch of UBS to explore the proposal. It is considering the details, including the terms and the timing of the listing. “The proposed transaction will be subject to, among other things: market conditions; commercial negotiations; the relevant regulatory, shareholders’ and other approvals being obtained; and the execution of definitive agreements by the relevant parties,” it said.
The company also advised shareholders to note that there is no certainty or assurance that the proposed Reit listing will occur or occur in the form as described.
In January 2015, Centurion said it was exploring the establishment of a Reit and injecting some of its worker accommodation assets into the Reit.
However, in March that year, the company announced its decision to defer and reconsider the proposal “to a later stage”.
This followed further consultation with SGX, which noted that the proposed listing of the Reit would be considered a chain listing under Listing Rule 210(6).
Under that rule, SGX will normally not approve the listing of a subsidiary of a listed issuer if the assets and operations of that subsidiary are substantially the same as those of the listed issuer.
Centurion shares closed trading on Jan 8 at 99.5 cents, up 3.5 cents or 3.65 per cent. It hit an intraday high of $1.02. THE BUSINESS TIMES
