Ascott Reit unitholders approve merger with A-HTrust

THE manager of Ascott Reit said on Monday that the extraordinary general meeting (EGM) resolutions relating to the Reit's merger with Ascendas Hospitality Trust (A-HTrust) have been passed.

This will pave the way for Ascott Reit, Singapore's first and biggest hospitality trust with S$5.7 billion in total assets, to become the largest hospitality trust in Asia Pacific and the eighth largest globally with combined assets of S$7.6 billion.

Out of all valid votes cast at the meeting, 99.98 per cent or 1.31 billion of units represented voted in favour of the merger. The number of unitholders present was 680, with 96.2 per cent or 654 voting to approve the proposed Ascott Reit scheme.

Shareholders TAL, SCPL and Ascott Reit's manager abstained from voting on resolutions pertaining to the approval of the Ascott Reit acquisition, the proposed issuance of consideration units, and the approval of the proposed unit issue price.

TAL, SCPL and Ascott Reit's manager hold 21.9 per cent, 14.4 per cent and 8.7 of total Ascott Reit units respectively.

Voting was done via electronic poll voting, with DrewCorp Services appointed as scrutineer.

The combined entity will be the seventh largest trust listed on the Singapore Exchange by asset value. This will facilitate the inclusion of combined entity into the FTSE EPRA Nareit Developed Index and potentially result in higher trading liquidity and a larger investor base.

Through increased access to a larger capital base and higher debt headroom of about S$1 billion, the combined entity will also have greater financial flexibility in seeking more accretive acquisitions and value enhancements.

It can also be strategically positioned to potentially enjoy a positive re-rating of the unit price.