Japan-focused Croesus Retail Trust (CRT) (SGX:S6NU) announced that it has entered into a sale and purchase agreement to acquire a shopping mall in Chiba Prefecture for JPY11 billion (SGD132.5 million).

The purchase price represents a discount of 5.2% to the independent valuation of JPY11.6 billion obtained for the property.

The freehold shopping mall, known as One Mall, is located about 40 km southeast of Tokyo and has a net lettable area (NLA) of 52,844 sq m. The property currently has an occupancy level of 99.4% and has a weighted average lease to expiry (WALE) of 5.8 years as of 30 June. It currently has 52 tenants including anchors Toys 'R' Us, Daiei and Central Sports.

The acquisition enlarges CRT's portfolio to seven properties and its total NLA by approximately 26.7% from 198,168 sqm to 251,013 sqm.

The acquisition will be funded through a mix of bank debt, proceeds from fixed rate notes that were issued on 23 January 2014 and a proposed private placement of 78.9 million new units of CRT which will be offered to institutional and private investors.

Jeremy Yong, co-founder and group managing director of CRT's sponsor, described the acquisition as one that is in tandem with the trust's  growth strategy. " This acquisition, our third asset acquisition following our IPO, fits in well with our strategy of acquiring properties in the Greater Tokyo areas that complement our existing portfolio and enhance our position as a leading investor in retail properties in Japan.

Units of CRT are currently listed on the Singapore Exchange at SGD1.00.