Friday 29 Mar 2024
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KUALA LUMPUR (April 28): Sime Darby Bhd is in talks with private equity giant Blackstone to sell a majority interest in three Singapore properties, a report said today.

"[Blackstone] is expected to take a stake of about 75% in entities owning the properties; the deal values the properties at about S$300 million (RM870 million). The yield, on an ungeared basis, is estimated at 6%," said Singapore's The Business Times newspaper.

The properties, it said, are Sime Darby Centre at Dunearn Road; Sime Darby Enterprise Centre, a light industrial building along Jalan Kilang off Jalan Bukit Merah; and Sime Darby Business Centre at Alexandra Road, which has a second-hand BMW showroom. Performance Motors, a subsidiary of Sime Darby, distributes BMWs.

"The three properties will be income-generating for Blackstone — as Sime entities occupying space there can be expected to lease back the space upon completion of the deal," said The Business Times.

In February, Sime Darby announced that it wished to monetise RM1.8 billion worth of assets, in an attempt to cut down debt and reduce gearing.

"In Australia, we have 13 properties and in Singapore we have three. We are looking at disposing of office buildings and industrial properties in the two countries. We will do a sale and leaseback," Sime Darby group chief executive officer Tan Sri Mohd Bakke Salle had told reporters.

The conglomerate has reported a 38% decline in net profit to RM273.3 million for the second quarter ended Dec 31, 2015 due mainly to lower crude palm oil prices.

At 4pm today, Sime Darby shares stood at RM7.80 with 672,700 units traded.

 

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