CapitalLand to buy two wholly-owned units from Ascendas-Singbridge

CapitalLand has reportedly entered into an agreement to buy two wholly-owned units from Ascendas-Singbridge, a subsidiary of Singapore state investment firm Temasek, in a cash and stock deal. On the approval of the deal, the new entity is expected to become Asia’s largest diversified real estate group. The combined assets under management will reportedly exceed $85.79 billion, thus placing the firm among the top 10 real estate investment management throughout the world. The major Asian real estate developer has a strong hold on shopping malls, offices, residential and service apartments segment. However, reports suggest that the deal will give CapitalLand a chance to gain access to interesting asset classes such as industrial, logistics and business parks, in the economy sector, which is driven by technology and e-commerce. Besides, it would also increase the firm’s option in international places. The acquisition is projected to reportedly expand the company’s presence to more than 180 cities across 32 countries. Temasek will reportedly receive about $2.2 billion in cash and $3 billion in new CapitalLand shares. Once the deal closes, Temasek’s ownership of CapitaLand is set to increase from 40.8 per cent to about 51 per cent.