Marc Wainer
JSE-listed property group Redefine Properties has received unconditional approval from the Competition Commission to conclude its acquisition of Annuity Properties, as well as Annuity’s asset and property management companies.
Annuity unitholders also gave their approval for Redefine to acquire Annuity by way of a scheme of arrangement on May 13. These approvals meant the transaction could now be finalised and would be effective from March 1.
Annuity linked unitholders would be entitled to the Redefine income distribution from this date.
According to Redefine’s offer, Annuity linked unitholders would receive 57.7 Redefine linked units for every 100 Annuity linked units, while Redefine would issue 136.6-million linked units, for which it had unitholder approval.
Redefine would also acquire Annuity’s management companies for a cash consideration of R103-million.
Annuity’s R2.1-billion property portfolio had been priced at an “attractive” 8.5% income yield in an environment of “scarce investment opportunities”.
“The Annuity portfolio significantly advances Redefine’s investment strategy in a single transaction. It provides excellent synergies, with 80% of its properties meeting Redefine’s investment criteria of which 30% of the portfolio comprises retail assets, which furthers Redefine’s objective for increased exposure to this sector,” commented Redefine CEO Marc Wainer.