SINGAPORE (Aug 27): On Aug 7, ESR Real Estate Investment Trust issued a circular to unitholders to explain the merits of a merger with Viva Industrial Trust, by way of a scheme of arrangement. ESR will be paying 96 cents per VIT unit, of which 10% is in cash and 90% in new ESR-REIT units. At least 1,561.2 million new units will be issued at 54 cents apiece, taking the total cost to $936.75 million for ESR-REIT.
At an EGM to be held on Aug 31 at 9am, unitholders will be able to vote on the merger, the proposed issue of new units and a whitewash resolution for the waiver of unitholders’ rights to receive a mandatory general offer from Tong Jinquan, a major unitholder of VIT. VIT will be holding an EGM on the same day but in the afternoon.
The rationale for the merger is to form a bigger REIT, which would be the fourth-largest industrial REIT by asset size.
