Singapore-listed retail REIT, CapitaLand Mall Trust (SGX:C38U) announced on 17 August that it has received in-principle approval from the Singapore Exchange to list new consideration units which will be issued to partly fund the acquisition of Bedok Mall.

The REIT has entered into a sale and purchase agreement with Brilliance Residential and CMA Singapore Investments to acquire the entire unitholding interest of Brilliance Mall Trust, which owns Bedok Mall, for SGD780 million. Brilliance Residential and CMA Singapore are wholly-owned subsidiaries of CapitaLand Limited.

Bedok Mall is a 222,500 square foot retail property with over 200 shops in the eastern part of Singapore. As at 31 December 2014, the mall has a committed occupancy of 99.3%.

“CapitaLand Mall Trust intends to leverage on its strong balance sheet to fund this acquisition”, said the REIT in an earlier announcement on the acquisition, adding that it plans to issue 72 million new units as partial consideration for the acquisition which is expected to come up to about SGD795 million including purchase-related costs.

The balance of this amount will be financed via a mixture of new debt or equity fund raising, the combination of which will be determined at a later date. The acquisition is expected to be completed by the fourth quarter of 2015.

Units of CapitaLand Mall Trust fell by more than 3% from the previous close to end at SGD1.91.

(Photo via bedokmall.com.sg)