Hot stock: EC World Reit down as much as 6.9% after potential deal called off

UNITS of EC World Real Estate Investment Trust (EC World Reit) BWCU were heavily traded on Wednesday (Dec 29) after a consortium of purchasers called off a potential deal to buy over the Reit's interest in all of its properties.

As at about 11.17 am, units of the Reit that specialises in Chinese logistics properties reached a low of S$0.745, down 6.9 per cent or S$0.055, with 3.9 million units changing hands.

No married deals were recorded, according to ShareInvestor data.

As at 11.58 am, the counter had eased slightly to trade at S$0.76, down 5 per cent or S$0.04, with close to 4.7 million units changing hands.

On Tuesday night, EC World Reit's manager said the potential deal, which was first announced on May 17, fell through when the parties were finalising the definitive terms and conditions of the potential transaction.

These included fixing the purchase consideration based on the relevant offshore currencies to safeguard EC World Reit against fluctuations between renminbi and Singapore or US dollars, the currencies in which offshore loans of the Reit are denominated.

The consortium had decided not to proceed "in view of the current market conditions and the fluctuations in exchange rate between the renminbi and Singapore or US dollars", it stated.

The bases on which the potential purchasers had approached the Reit's manager in relation to the potential transaction "have changed significantly", it added.

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