Mapletree Logistics Trust says it has signed a sale and purchase agreement to acquire Toki Logistics Centre, a warehouse facility in Japan, for JPY 1.05 billion ($ 16.2 million)1 from Hamakyorex Co., a third-party logistics company (3PL) in Japan.

The property is a two-storey warehouse facility strategically situated in Toki Plasma Research Park, an industrial and logistics park about 40 km from Nagoya (Japan’s third largest city after Tokyo and Osaka). Well-connected by the Tokai-Kanjo Expressway to various areas such as Shinetsu, Tokai, Hokuriku and Kansai areas and centrally located between Tokyo and Osaka, the area is popular for logistics and industrial facilities.

This acquisition provides an attractive and accretive yield of 8.6% which is comparatively higher than the implied property yield of the existing Japan portfolio which is at about 5.5%.

The vendor, Hamakyorex, will enter into a 10-year lease agreement with MapletreeLog. Established since 1971, Hamakyorex is a leading logistics player in Japan, whose main business includes providing third-party logistics services, logistics consultancy services, trucking and general freight transportation services as well as overseas logistics services. Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, Hamakyorex logistics operations is mainly between Tokyo and Osaka. According to Logi-Biz2, a leading monthly logistics business publication, Hamakyorex has been consistently ranked top 10 for overall performance for the past three years in Japan’s logistics industry.

With the addition of this acquisition, MapletreeLog says its total portfolio will increase to 92 properties and the book value of the asset portfolio would be approximately $3.4 billion upon completion of this transaction. The acquisition is expected to be completed by 4Q 2010.