Saizen Reit's sale of assets completed

SAIZEN Reit announced on Friday that divestment of its entire portfolio of real estate assets to Triangle TMK, a Japanese affiliate of Lone Star Real Estate Fund IV and Lone Star Funds, for 44.66 billion yen (S$542.8 million) has been completed.

The Singapore Exchange had on March 2 granted conditional approval for the continued trading of Saizen Reit's securities following the completion of the asset disposal and had informed the Reit manager that the minimum trading price requirement does not apply to Saizen Reit when it becomes a cash trust.

Among conditions pegged to the approval for continued trading, the Reit manager has to provide monthly valuation of its assets and utilisation of cash, and quarterly updates of milestones in obtaining a new business on the SGX website.

The Reit manager has also procured contractual undertakings from the directors of the Reit manager, Arnold Ip and Dennis Lam, as well as CEO Joey Goh to observe a moratorium on the transfer or disposal of their interests in the units until the acquisition of a new business by Saizen Reit is completed in order to satisfy SGX's requirements for a new listing.

Saizen Reit does not have any controlling unitholders.

A special distribution of S$1.056 per unit amounting to S$303.1 million in total is expected to be paid out, with the book closure date on March 15 and payment date on March 29. In addition, as announced on Feb 11, the income distribution of Saizen Reit for the financial period from July 2015 to December 2015 of 2.83 cents per unit, or S$8.1 million in total, will be paid to unitholders on March 29.