Southernwood Property clinches CPF Building sale tender with S$550m bid

THE CPF Board has awarded the tender for the sale of the CPF Building at 79 Robinson Road to Southernwood Property - a unit of a company wholly owned by Ascendas Land - which had the highest bid at S$550 million.

The public tender for the sale of the building, which closed on Oct 28, attracted three bids, with the other two being a bid of S$538.28 million by Leapford and a bid of S$280 million by OUE Reef Development.

Leapford is wholly owned by Pacific Century Regional Developments, while OUE Reef Development is wholly owned by Reef Development Holdings, which in turn is jointly owned by OUE, Haiyi Holdings and SingHaiyi Group.

In addition to having the highest bid, Southernwood Property met all tender criteria, including a strong financial standing and purchase conditions such as the assignment of tenancies to the new owner.

Since Nov 23, the corporate operations of the CPF Board have been relocating in phases to Novena Square Towers A and B. The relocation is a "strategic move to free up prime office space in the Central Business District for higher-value uses", the CPF Board said in a release on Thursday.

The CPF Service Centre will continue to operate at 79 Robinson Road until further notice.