Keppel-KBS US REIT Seeks to Raise $448 Million in Singapore IPO
By Crystal Tse
October 25, 2017, 4:27 PM GMT+8
Intial portfolio comprises 11 office properties in the U.S.
Real estate trust units expected to begin trading Nov. 9
Keppel-KBS US REIT, which comprises 11 office properties in the U.S., is seeking to raise $448 million in a Singapore initial public offering.
The trust is offering 509.1 million units at $0.88 apiece, according to terms for the deal obtained by Bloomberg. The REIT is forecasting a dividend yield of about 6.8 percent for the 2018 fiscal year and 7.2 percent for 2019, the terms show.
The Keppel-KBS offering, only the second IPO from a property trust in the city-state this year, would add to the $5.8 billion of such deals on the bourse in the past five years, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Units of Manulife U.S. REIT, which is backed by office buildings in Los Angeles and Atlanta, have risen about 9.6 percent in Singapore since its IPO last year.
Cromwell Property Group last month shelved the listing of a property trust that was set to become Singapore’s first euro-denominated IPO.
Sponsors of the REIT, Keppel Capital Holdings Pte and KBS Pacific Advisors Pte, will each hold as much as 9.5 percent of the trust after the offering.
Cornerstone investors including Affin Hwang Asset Management Bhd., Hillsboro Capital Ltd. and DBS Bank Ltd. agreed to buy a combined $217 million of the deal, according to the terms. Private banking clients of DBS and Credit Suisse Group AG are also participating as cornerstones.
Keppel-KBS expects to begin trading Nov. 9, the terms show. Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Credit Suisse and DBS are joint bookrunners.
- wong chee tat :)
