Singapore-listed Croesus Retail Trust (CRT) said on Wednesday that it received a S$900.6 million offer from U.S. private equity group Blackstone Group LLP. CRT, which operates retail properties in Japan, said affiliates of Blackstone offered to pay S$1.17 in cash per unit, representing a premium of over 38 percent to Croesus' 12-month volume weighted average price.
"After extensive deliberation of the proposed scheme, we believe the scheme provides an opportunity for our unitholders to realise their investment for cash at a significant premium," David Lim, chairman, Croesus Retail Trust, said.
The scheme is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter this year. Once the scheme is effective, CRT will be wholly-owned by Blackstone and will be delisted, the company said.
Blackstone Group is one of the world's largest institutional real estate investors and managed $102 billion of equity for real estate investments as of December 31, 2016. It is also one of the largest retail owners in the world, with investments in 563 properties globally.
"This transaction represents a good opportunity for Blackstone's real estate business to further expand its platform in Japan...", said Christopher Heady, head of real estate - Asia, Blackstone Group.
Citigroup Global Markets Singapore acted as financial adviser to CRT while DBS Bank is the financial adviser to Blackstone. Shares of the company rose 10.4 percent to S$1.16. The stock is up nearly 40 percent so far this year.
