And, Commonwealth Property Office Fund (CPA) said yesterday that it had terminated a deal with Dexus Property Group (DXS) and a Canadian pension fund, after receiving a higher takeover offer from property investor The GPT Group.
The $2.99 billion takeover bid from GPT, whose biggest shareholder is Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC Private Limited, seems to have upset the deal with Dexus and Canada Pension Plan Investment, as foreign investors bet on the upward trend in Australia’s office property sector.
Commonwealth Managed Investments Limited (CMIL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Commonwealth Bank of Australia that manages CPA on behalf of unit holders, said it had scrapped the A$2.8 billion deal after considering the GPA cash and shares offer which is around 5 – 7c a unit higher than the Dexus bid.
CMIL said Dexus and the Canadian fund could undertake further due diligence on a non-exclusive basis until December 9, and added that it would consider "any proposal that maximises unitholder value".
GPT Vs CPA Vs DXS YTD – CPA up for grabs as initial Dexus deal falls through
Analysts reckon a rumoured deal between GPT and Dexus on some surplus CBD office buildings could help smooth the path for GPT to win CPA.
GPT units rose 2.2% to $3.64 yesterday after the Dexus deal with CPA was undone. CPA units were steady on $1.265,
