MCT to acquire Mapletree Business City Phase 1 in Alexandra for $1.8 billion

DBS Trustee Limited, the trustee of Mapletree Commercial Trust, one of the largest commercial REITs in Singapore’s market has entered into a ‘put and call option’ to acquire the office and business park components of Mapletree Business City (Phase 1) from Mapletree Business City Pte. Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mapletree Investments Pte Ltd, for S$1.78 billion.

The Acquisition involves the purchase of the strata leasehold interest of four blocks of office and business park space, namely an office tower and three business park blocks with a total net lettable area of over 1.7 million square feet. The purchase price of the property is lower than the valuation of S$1.822 billion done by Knight Frank. Although, including acquisition related expenses, the total acquisition cost is expected to be approximately S$1,858.5 million.

Since its completion in 2010, the Property has attracted a strong and diverse tenant base comprising well-known and reputable multinational corporations such as The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation, Samsung Asia, Unilever Asia and SAP Asia. Located in the Alexandra Precinct 1, Mapletree Business City is one of the largest integrated office and business park complexes in Singapore. With building specifications that are comparable to Grade-A offices in the CBD, the Property stands out as a premier office and business park space.

The Complex has been certified Green Mark Platinum by the Building and Construction Authority of Singapore for its innovative design and environmentally-sustainable features. It currently has an occupancy rate of 97.8% and a weighted average lease to expiry of 3.5 years.

Sharon Lim, Chief Executive Officer of MCTM, said,

The addition of the Property will increase our NPI and further enhance MCT’s tenant and income diversification. Upon the successful completion of the Acquisition, MCT’s asset size will increase from the current S$4.3 billion to S$6.1 billion, reinforcing our position as a leading commercial REIT in Singapore.

With a market capitalization of more than S$3.1 billion, Mapletree Commercial Trust owns four properties in Singapore. The properties include VivoCity and Merrill Lynch HarbourFront. The Group’s assets are located across 12 economies globally, namely Singapore, Australia, China, Germany, Hong Kong SAR, India, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, the United Kingdom, the United States and Vietnam.