Ascendas REIT to buy business parks in US, Singapore

Ascendas Real Estate Investment Trust said on Friday it is buying 30 business park properties in the United States and Singapore for about S$1.66 billion ($1.22 billion) from its controlling unit holder CapitaLand Ltd. Through this deal, Ascendas REIT will foray into the United States, where it is buying 28 business parks located in Raleigh, Portland and San Diego. It plans to fund the acquisition mainly through a S$1.3 billion rights issue and loan facilities. Its portfolio currently consists of properties in Singapore, the United Kingdom and Australia. The firm had marked a major expansion into Australia in 2015 when it acquired 26 logistics properties for A$1 billion. Real estate developer CapitaLand said in a separate statement it expected to realise a gain of about S$95.4 million upon deal completion.