ARA said to clinch deal to purchase Capital Square office tower stake

[SINGAPORE] ARA Asset Management Ltd has won the bid for a stake in Singapore's Capital Square office tower in the city's central business district, according to people familiar with the matter.

ARA, which is listed in Singapore, is buying the 50 per cent stake in the building that was put up for sale last year by Alpha Investment Partners, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the process is private.

The purchase will be concluded by month-end, one of the people said, without disclosing the price of the deal.

The 16-story prime office building in the Raffles Place financial district was expected to fetch about S$2,500 per square foot, valuing the 50 per cent stake at roughly S$415 million, according to an estimate from Donald Han, a Singapore-based managing director at real estate broker Chestertons.

The transaction will add to a recent spate of deals in Singapore's business district as falling rents and a large supply of prime space have pushed valuations lower.

The tower, whose tenants include Morgan Stanley, Bloomberg LP and Citigroup Inc, was bought by Alpha and insurer NTUC Income in 2011 from Munich Re for S$889 million, or about S$2,300 per square foot.

ARA declined to comment in an e-mailed statement.

Capital Square, which is spread out over 388,215 square feet, was built by developer Keppel Land and completed in 1998.

CBRE Group Inc and Jones Lang LaSalle were appointed to market Capital Square, they said in a joint statement in April 2015.

BLOOMBERG