Ascendas-Singbridge 'mulling US$500m Reit IPO'

Singapore

ASCENDAS-Singbridge Group is considering a Singapore real estate investment trust (Reit) listing, backed by recently acquired US office properties that could raise about US$500 million, people with knowledge of the matter said.

The real estate firm, owned by Singapore's Temasek Holdings Pte and JTC Corp, is working with advisers on the planned deal, the people said. The initial public offering (IPO) could take place as early as the first quarter, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the details are private.

Ascendas-Singbridge said in September that it had bought a portfolio of 33 office properties in the US, with tenants including Nike Inc and Oracle Corp. The deal comprised net lettable area of about 3.3 million square feet spread across San Diego in California, Portland in Oregon and Raleigh in North Carolina.

Deliberations about a possible IPO are at an early stage, and details including size and timing could change, said the people. Any deal would add to the US$3.1 billion of property trust listings in Singapore over the last three years, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

A representative for Ascendas-Singbridge said she couldn't immediately comment.

Ascendas-Singbridge already manages three Singapore-listed property trusts focused on industrial and office parks, Indian real estate and hospitality assets. The biggest, Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust, has fallen 6.3 per cent this year, giving it a market value of about US$5.8 billion.

Temasek and JTC, the government industrial landlord, formed Ascendas-Singbridge in 2015. The firm, which manages more than S$20 billion of assets, is present in Asia, Australia, Europe and the US, its website shows. BLOOMBERG