The couple&rsquo s stake in the trust stands at 35.5%, after returning the offer units

 

PROPERTY tycoon Gordon Tang and his wife Celine have failed to take over Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit), as their shareholding fell short of the 50 per cent threshold as at the offer closing date.

 

As at 5.30 pm on Friday (Feb 7), the total number of units owned, controlled, or agreed to be acquired by their investment holding company, Aelios, amounted to about 1.1 billion &ndash or 37.4 per cent of the total issued units.

 

All offer units tendered in acceptance of the offer will be returned to unitholders, said the offer&rsquo s joint financial advisers, UOB and DBS, in a bourse filing after the market closed on Friday.

 

Among the 1.1 billion final units owned by Aelios, about 57.4 million units &ndash or 2 per cent of the Reit&rsquo s total units &ndash were valid acceptances of the offer.

 

Aelios was formed by Tang and his wife as a vehicle for their mandatory conditional cash offer to acquire all of Suntec Reit&rsquo s units.

 

The offer was first made at S$1.16 apiece on Dec 5, 2024, and later raised to S$1.19 per unit. The offer closing date was postponed twice.

 

Prior to the offer, Aelios was deemed to have a 29.3 per cent stake in Suntec Reit. The offer was triggered after Aelios acquired 62.5 million units on Dec 5 by way of on-market transactions at S$1.16 apiece, bringing its shareholding to 31.5 per cent.

 

The investment holding company said that the offer was made solely to comply with Rule 14.1 of the Take-over Code, which stipulates that any entity controlling more than 30 per cent of a Reit must make a mandatory general offer to acquire its remaining units.

 

Tang and wife&rsquo s stake in Suntec Reit stands at 35.5 per cent, or about one billion units, after returning the offer securities to the unitholders who had accepted the offer.

They do not intend to increase the offer price, which was earlier raised to S$1.19 a unit, from S$1.16

 

THE closing date of the mandatory conditional cash offer made by property tycoon Gordon Tang and his wife Celine to acquire all units of Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust : T82U -0.84% (Reit) has been extended to 5.30 pm on Feb 7.

 

The offer had been slated to close on Monday (Feb 3), at 5.30 pm.

 

In a bourse filing, the joint financial advisers for the offer, UOB and DBS, said the offeror &ndash investment holding company Aelios &ndash does not intend to increase the offer price, which was earlier raised to S$1.19 a unit, from S$1.16.

 

After adjusting for the payment of Suntec Reit&rsquo s fourth quarter distribution to unitholders, the offeror intends to pay unitholders S$1.1743 for each unit, should the offer become unconditional in all respects in accordance with its terms.

 

The level of acceptances as at Monday will be announced by 8 am on the next market day, said the joint financial advisers.

 

Based on the latest dealings disclosure on Jan 31, Aelios and its concert parties owns or controls close to 992 million units or some 33.8 per cent of the total issued units of Suntec Reit.

 

The offer was initially triggered after Aelios&rsquo deemed interest in the trust reached 31.5 per cent, after acquiring 62.5 million units on Dec 5 by way of on-market transactions at S$1.16 apiece.

 

Aelios was previously deemed to have a 29.3 per cent stake in the Reit.

 

The investment holding company said that the offer was made solely to comply with Rule 14.1 of the Take-over Code, by which any entity controlling more than 30 per cent of a Reit must make a mandatory general offer to acquire its remaining units.

 

The company added that it intends to maintain the listing status of Suntec Reit on the Singapore Exchange, following completion of the offer.

 

The offer will turn unconditional once Aelios owns 50 per cent or more of the trust&rsquo s total units.

Capital distribution is absent in FY2024 operational performance of trust&rsquo s Singapore office and retail portfolios, as well as Sydney properties, improves

SUNTEC Real Estate Investment Trust&rsquo s (Suntec Reit) : T82U 0% distribution per unit (DPU) slid 13.9 per cent to S$0.0315 for the second half of 2024 ended Dec 31, from S$0.03659 in the corresponding year-ago period.

 

Capital distribution was absent in FY2024, its manager said in a bourse filing on Thursday (Jan 23).

 

Suntec Reit&rsquo s distribution in FY2023 included a capital distribution component &ndash amounting to S$23 million &ndash relating to the divestment of Park Mall in 2015. This contributed S$11.5 million to distributable income in H2 FY2023, bringing distributable income to S$106.3 million.

 

Thus, distributable income in H2 FY2024 &ndash which came only from operations &ndash slipped 13.2 per cent to S$92.2 million from the year-ago period.

 

Comparing distributable income only from operations across both second halves, H2 2024 logged a fall of 2.7 per cent to S$92.2 million, from S$94.8 million in H2 2023.

 

Revenue fell by a marginal 0.7 per cent to S$236.7 million for the half-year period, from S$238.4 million in H2 FY2023. Net property income (NPI) was largely flat, at S$159.8 million.

 

A distribution of S$0.0157 per unit for the period from Oct 1 to Dec 31, 2024, will be paid on or about Feb 28, 2025, after books closure on Feb 4.

 

Meanwhile, for the full year, DPU was down 13.2 per cent at S$0.06192, from S$.07135 previously.

 

Revenue edged up 0.2 per cent to S$463.6 million, from S$462.7 million. NPI decreased by 0.8 per cent, falling to S$310.8 million from S$313.2 million.

 

Distributable income shrank 12.5 per cent to S$180.9 million, from S$206.8 million.

 

Operational performance of the Reit&rsquo s Singapore office and retail portfolios, as well as the Sydney properties, improved in FY2024, the manager said. In Singapore, it achieved strong rental reversions across all quarters of the year.

 

The manager flagged that it divested S$58.3 million of strata units at Suntec City Office Towers, with proceeds used to pare down debts.

 

It added: &ldquo The transactions were accretive to the Reit&rsquo s earnings as the achieved divestment yield were lower than current borrowing costs.&rdquo

 

Meanwhile, the Melbourne properties &ldquo remained stable&rdquo . But it added: &ldquo Distributable income was impacted by higher financing costs and lower contributions arising from vacancies at 55 Currie Street, Adelaide and The Minster Building, London.&rdquo

 

The manager expects modest positive rental reversions &ndash from 1 to 5 per cent &ndash for its Singapore office portfolio. At Suntec City Mall, it anticipates committed occupancy to remain high at more than 95 per cent, while positive rent reversion is expected to be in the range of 10 to 15 per cent. 

 

It believes that the performance of Suntec Convention will be largely stable, &ldquo as the composition of event types is likely to remain largely unchanged&rdquo .

 

For Australia, however, vacancies in the office market for the Melbourne and Adelaide central business districts are expected to remain elevated, it said.

 

It noted that demand in Adelaide remains weak, but expects the healthy occupancies of the Sydney and Melbourne properties to support its Australian portfolio&rsquo s performance, keeping it stable.

 

Occupancy and rental growth in Central London is expected to continue to improve, supported by tight supply and increase in office utilisation, the manager added, citing JLL UK Research.