FLT divests 50% interest in Queensland property for A$134.2m

THE manager of Frasers Logistics & Industrial Trust (FLT) announced on Thursday that it is divesting 50 per cent of its ownership in the property at 99 Sandstone Place, Queensland, Australia for A$134.2 million (S$126.8 million) to an entity managed by DWS2, a global real estate investment manager.

The property, which is a cold storage distribution facility, is leased to Coles Group Ltd.

The amount represents an 8.8 per cent premium over the book value of A$123.3 million (based on a 50 per cent interest in the property) as at March 31 this year, and a 15.3 per cent premium over the original purchase price of A$116.4 million during FLT's initial public offering in 2016. It also took into account the latest independent valuation conducted by Urbis Valuations Pty Ltd at A$134.2 million as at May 1, 2019.

The estimated net proceeds from the divestment is approximately A$128.8 million, after taking into account divestment fees of approximately A$0.7 million to be paid to the Reit manager, together with other divestment and tax-related expenses.

The net divestment proceeds may be distributed to unitholders or used for funding potential acquisition opportunities, reducing existing debt or other general corporate purposes.

The proposed divestment is expected to be completed in the third quarter of 2019.

Robert Wallace, CEO of the Reit manager, said: "We are pleased to enter into a partnership with DWS to co-own and co-manage the property... This is in line with our active asset management strategy, with the divestment proceeds providing FLT with greater financial flexibility."