CapitaLand Ascendas Reit buys two Singapore industrial assets and Japan data centre for $1.4 bil

The assets being purchased include a 50% stake in Ascent, a business park at 2 Science Park Drive (Picture: Samuel Isaac Chua/EdgeProp Singapore)

CapitaLand Ascendas Reit (CLAR) has announced the acquisition of three industrial assets across Singapore and Japan for $1.4 billion.

Two of the assets are in Singapore. CLAR is buying a 100% stake in 25 Loyang Crescent, a cluster of ramp-up logistics and industrial buildings, for $504.2 million, including an upfront land premium of $46.35 million.

It is also acquiring a 50% interest in Ascent, a business park at 2 Science Park Drive, for $245 million. A global sovereign wealth fund is acquiring the remaining 50% interest in Ascent, adds CLAR in a March 24 release.

The third and last asset is a Tier III hyperscale data centre in Greater Osaka, Japan, in which the Reit is buying a 49% interest for $620.7 million. A fund managed by Mitsui & Co Realty Management, a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co, holds the remaining interest in the data centre.

The acquisition of the data centre marks the Reit’s first foray into Japan. “CLAR’s new expansion into Japan reflects our disciplined approach to scaling and diversifying CLAR’s global data centre portfolio across key established digital hubs with strong demand drivers and connectivity,” remarks William Tay, CEO and executive director of CLAR’s manager.

Nonetheless, Singapore remains the cornerstone of CLAR’s portfolio, the Reit states. With the acquisition of 25 Loyang Crescent and Ascent, CLAR’s Singapore portfolio will increase to about $13.2 billion, representing 66% of the Reit’s total portfolio assets under management of $19.9 billion.

The total acquisition outlay is estimated at $1.41 billion, comprising the aggregate purchase consideration, the acquisition fees payable to CLAR’s manager, and other transaction-related expenses. To help fund the acquisition, CLAR has raised gross proceeds of about $903.5 million from a private placement and preferential offering, it said in a March 25 bourse filing.

The three acquisitions are expected to be distribution per unit (DPU)-accretive for CLAR, on a pro forma basis. The DPU accretion is estimated to be around 0.318 cents or 2.1%, assuming all three acquisitions were completed on Jan 1, 2025.

The sale of 25 Loyang Crescent to CLAR was brokered by CBRE. “We continue to see robust investor appetite for high-quality industrial real estate, particularly assets backed by long-term income security,” comments Loh Lee Fen, CBRE Singapore’s head of industrial capital markets. “The softening of interest rates to their lowest levels since 2022 has further strengthened buying momentum,” she adds.