Dexus, Canada fund buy A$2.8b trust

[SYDNEY] Dexus Property Group, Australia's biggest listed office landlord, and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reached an agreement with Commonwealth Bank of Australia to buy the bank's listed office trust for A$2.83 billion (S$3.3 billion).

Dexus and the Canadian fund increased their cash-and-stock bid to A$1.2052 a share, from A$1.15-a-share last month, Dexus said. A binding agreement must be reached by mid-December, according to the statement.

The takeover would be the latest in a string of investments in Australian property by CPPIB and adds to the Toronto-based fund's C$5.8 billion (S$6.9 billion) of investments in the country. Dexus, which agreed to buy a 14.9 per cent interest in the fund in August after Commonwealth Bank said it planned to exit its property business, would own and manage a quarter of the commercial buildings in Sydney following a successful takeover.