Acquisition spree continues for Industrial REITs

Ascendas REIT and Mapletree Logistics have entered deals to enlarge portfolios.

The acquisition momentum continues for Singapore Industrial REITs in the past month leading up to this year, according to OCBC Investment Research.

Notably, Ascendas REIT (A-REIT) and Mapletree Logistics Trust (MLT) both sought to enlarge their portfolios with proposed acquisitions.

Ascendas is on the prowl to acquire the leasehold interest in the property located at 12, 14 and 16 Science Park Drive from its sponsor for a purchase consideration of $420m. This could generate a NPI yield of approximately 6.3% before the acquisition cost and 6% post-acquisition costs n the first year of ownership.It would also increase Ascendas portfolio Weighted Average Lease Expiry to 4.4 years from 3.7 years.

Meanwhile, Mapletree has continued to target inorganic growth overseas in Australia.

"It recently proposed to acquire a portfolio of four logistics properties in Victoria for a purchase consideration of A$142.2m (~S$151.9m), thus boosting its Australian portfolio to nine properties. The initial NPI yield is estimated to be 7.6%, and is expected to be accretive at the distribution level," OCBC said.