Is ESR-Reit on a road to redemption?

After its attempted merger with Sabana Reit failed, ESR-Reit is pursuing a slew of DPU-accretive initiatives

Ben Paul

Published Mon, May 10, 2021 · 05:50 AM

A STRING of growth initiatives unveiled by ESR-Reit last week, including an equity fund raising, was met by a sell-off in the market.

But these latest moves could set ESR-Reit on a road to redemption of sorts, after spending months last year embroiled in a controversial attempt to acquire Sabana Shari'ah Compliant Industrial Real Estate Investment Trust (Sabana Reit) at a steep discount to its book value.

The deal ultimately failed to garner sufficient support from unitholders of Sabana Reit at an extraordinary general meeting (EGM) in December. Since then, units in Sabana Reit have rallied more than 18 per cent, while units in ESR-Reit are nearly 5 per cent lower.

Now, ESR-Reit appears to have refocused on managing its own portfolio. It is pursuing asset enhancement initiatives (AEIs), offloading non-core assets and acquiring properties with the pot…