E-Shang Redwood Subsidiary Acquires 80 Percent Indirect Interest in CITM
Cambridge Industrial Trust Management Limited (CITM), as the Manager of Cambridge Industrial Trust (CIT), has been informed that nabInvest Capital Partners Pty Limited (NAB, a wholly-owned subsidiary of National Australia Bank Limited) and CREIM Limited (Oxley, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Oxley Global Limited) have entered into a binding agreement today for the sale of their aggregate 80 percent indirect interest in CITM to e-Shang Infinity Cayman Limited (Infinity), a subsidiary of e-Shang Redwood Limited (ESR). This transaction also includes Infinity acquiring a 100 percent indirect interest in Cambridge Industrial Property Management Pte. Ltd. (“CIPM”), the property manager of CIT. Completion of the Transaction is expected to take place within this week.
ESR is a leading pan-Asia logistics real estate developer, owner and operator. ESR focuses on developing modern, institutional quality logistics and industrial warehouses across major gateway markets in Asia. The company currently has 6.5 million square metres of projects in operation or under development in China, Japan and South Korea with an additional 6 million square metres in the pipeline.
As ESR seeks to actively broaden its presence across Asia, the transaction is significant as it marks ESR’s initial foray into Southeast Asia. As the majority shareholder of the Manager, ESR is committed to evaluating opportunities that will maximise value for CIT unit holders by leveraging its asset and property management expertise to improve CIT’s current property performance as well as grow the portfolio by actively assisting the Manager to source accretive acquisition opportunities in Singapore and across the region.
Mr Jeffrey Shen and Mr Stuart Gibson, co-CEOs of ESR, jointly commented: “CIT is a well- respected industrial REIT which has grown significantly since its IPO in 2006. Our investment underscores our confidence in the underlying fundamentals and quality of CIT’s portfolio of assets, which provide us a strong platform for further diversification and growth into Singapore and key markets across Asia. ESR’s interest is aligned with CIT’s management and unit holders and we look forward to seeking opportunities to add value to all its stakeholders.”
On 18 October 2016, an announcement was made by the Manager in the announcement portal of Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited, which disclosed that Infinity had entered into a definitive option agreement to acquire up to 10.65 percent of the outstanding CIT Units from three existing unit holders. Upon exercise and completion of the acquisition of the CIT Units pursuant to the option agreement after the completion of the Transaction, ESR will become the second largest unit holder of CIT.
