Why the buyout interest in Ascendas H-Trust?

THE bids are in for Ascendas Hospitality Trust (A-HTrust). The Business Times understands there are four bids - from Blackstone, Gaw Capital, a joint one from Varde Partners and Westmont Hospitality, and a fourth bid which BT was unable to ascertain by press time. The names bandied about are Starwood Capital and Fosun International.

But what exactly has driven this keen interest in this particular Reit (real estate investment trust)?

As with all purchases, price is paramount. Yet, A-HTrust is not cheap at the moment. Since it first announced unsolicited interest in its stapled securities, the stock price had risen as much as 11 per cent to S$0.81. It closed at S$0.775 on Monday, still about 1.1 times to book. As at Monday, its market value stood at S$867 million.