Mapletree Logistics Trust plans acquisition spree of up to 10 properties in Asia-Pacific

SINGAPORE - Mainboard-listed Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) on Thursday announced plans to acquire eight logistics properties in Japan, Australia and South Korea for a combined value of about $914 million.

The acquisition plan chimes with MLT’s strategy to expand its footprint across the Asia-Pacific markets, and ramp up its portfolio with more modern logistics assets.

The Asia-focused logistics real estate investment trust, or Reit, is also in talks to acquire two properties in Jiaxing, China, for an estimated 1.08 billion yuan (S$208 million), while looking at a potential divestment of a non-core property in Hong Kong for about HK$590 million (S$99.8 million).

MLT said in a statement that it may consider selective divestment of non-core assets and attempt to redeploy the capital into investments of modern logistics assets with higher growth potential.

All eight properties are priced at a slight discount to their actual value as derived from an independent valuation.

The total acquisition costs for the Japan, Australia and South Korea assets are respectively about 3.8 per cent, 2.6 per cent and 6.1 per cent lower than their valuations.

MLT estimates the Japan acquisition to bring in a yield of 3.5 per cent based on the acquisition price, while the South Korean and Australian acquisitions have an estimated yield of 4.6 per cent.

All eight acquisitions are expected to be accretive to the trust’s distribution per unit on a pro forma basis.

The Reit also launched an equity fund-raising via private placement to raise proceeds worth $200 million, according to a term sheet seen by Reuters.

The indicative price range was $1.61 to $1.649 per share, according to the term sheet.

The Reit plans to use the proceeds to fund the acquisitions and repay existing debt.

Trading in MLT has been halted since Thursday morning. The stock closed on Wednesday down one cent, or 0.6 per cent, at $1.70. REUTERS