REIT WATCH: Blackstone-Owned REIT Brixmor Files for IPO
**United States**
***Brixmor Property Group to Go Public***
iNVEZZ.com (London) Friday, July 19th: Brixmor Property Group, a New York-based retail landlord owned by private-equity firm Blackstone Group (NYSE:BX), yesterday filed for an initial public offering (IPO), moving towards what is expected to be one of the largest real estate investment trust stock market debuts in recent years.
Blackstone acquired most of the REIT’s properties for $9.2 billion in 2011. Brixmor, which operates the largest portfolio of grocery-anchored and neighbourhood shopping centres in the US, said it was seeking to raise $100 million in the IPO, but the amount was solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee, the company said in the filing. The IPO is expected to be larger as Brixmor is valued at roughly $13 billion, including debt. The listing would likely come in the fourth quarter of the year on the New York Stock Exchange, where the company is expected to trade under the ticker BRX, Reuters reported today.
**United Kingdom**
***NewRiver Buys Middlesbrough Mall for £50 million***
NewRiver Retail (LON:NRR), a UK REIT specialising in retail property investment, has completed the acquisition of the Hillstreet shopping centre in Middlesbrough, north east England. The £50 million deal — NewRiver Retail’s largest to date — reflects a net initial yield of 9.6 percent and was made in a 50:50 partnership with LVS II Lux IV S.a.r.l., a subsidiary of debt-focused opportunistic fund Pimco Bravo Fund.
The Wall Street Journal quoted David Lockhart, NewRiver Retail’s Chief Executive Officer, as saying in a statement yesterday: “The Hillstreet centre is our largest acquisition to date and demonstrates NewRiver’s ability to deploy the proceeds of the recent fundraise effectively and efficiently. We are also delighted to have the support of our joint venture partner LVS, to help facilitate our expansion.”
**Singapore**
***Suntec REIT Posts 4% Fall in Q2 Distributable Income***
Singapore-based Suntec Real Estate Investment Trust (SGX:T82U) today posted distributable income of $50.9 million for the second quarter of 2013, a drop of four percent compared to the same period last year. The REIT will pay a distribution per unit (DPU) of 2.249 cents, down 4.7 percent year-on-year. Second-quarter gross revenue at the company fell 33.9 percent to $46.9 million, while net property income dropped 38.5 per cent to $28.0 million.
For the six months to June 30, Suntec’s distributable income fell 6.2 percent over a year ago to $101.1 million.
The declines were mainly due to the partial closure of Suntec City Mall and the Suntec Singapore shopping centre which are both undergoing a makeover, Suntec’s Chief Executive Officer Yeo See Kiat said in a statement yesterday.
**The NewRiver share price in London was 0.38 percent higher at 233.88p as of 19.07.2013, 13.35 BST.
The Suntec share price in Singapore was 1.61 percent down at S$1.53 at the close of trading on 19.07.2013.**
To contact the reporters on this story: Deyana Ivanova in London at [email protected]
To contact the editor responsible for this story: [email protected]
