Centurion to buy 160-unit student housing in the US for US$70m

CENTURION Corporation announced on Thursday plans to acquire College & Crown, a 160-unit student accommodation asset with 204 beds near Yale University in the US, for US$70 million (S$95 million).

This follows its maiden entry in the US last month with a proposed acquisition of a portfolio of 1,936 beds across five student accommodation assets for US$136 million (S$185 million).

These acquisitions are expected to be completed around end-September and will be earnings accretive to the group's results from the fourth quarter of 2017, it said.

The group plans to own up to 30 per cent of the combined US portfolio, which will total six accommodations with 2,140 beds, with the balance interest to be held by third-party investors.

Centurion will enter into a joint venture with a local partner, which is an established student accommodation manager in the US, to manage the operations of College & Crown.

"The proposed acquisition of College & Crown will further boost our expansion plans in the US," said Centurion's chief executive officer, Kong Chee Min.

"It will also further heighten the profile of our dwell brand as one of the leading providers of high quality student accommodation assets and management services, as we diversify our business in the resilient student accommodation sector," he added.

The agreement to buy College & Crown was entered into by its wholly-owned subsidiary, Centurion Overseas Investments (III) Pte Ltd, and College Square LLC on Aug 8, the group said on Thursday.

This brings Centurion's student accommodation assets portfolio under management to 16 assets with 5,172 beds in the US, UK, Australia and Singapore.