Overwhelming support for SA Corporate deal with SA Retail

A meeting of unitholders of SA Corporate Real Estate Fund in Durban today overwhelmingly approved the acquisition of SA Retail Properties Ltd, with over 99% of the unitholders voting in favour of the transaction.

This paves the way for a R7 billion diversified fund.

Craig Ewin, head of listed real estate at Old Mutual Investment Group: Property Investments, which manages both funds, says that competition commission approval will be the final leg in the regulatory process., which has necessitated extending the offer dates by one week. The SA Corporate offer of to SA Retail linked unitholders will now close on May 4, and results will be announced on May 7.

Ewin says SA Corporate requires a 90% acceptance of the offer in order to invoke section 440k of the Companies Act.

"Given that SA Corporate already has 97% irrevocable acceptance of the offer, it is therefore a matter of the flow through of paperwork for SA Retail unitholders to swap their units into SA Corporate.

"Following last week's approval by SA Retail unitholders of  the acquisition of the R1 billion Sharemax portfolio of 10 retail properties,  the enlarged SA Corporate  fund will have a market capitalisation of more than R7 billion, with enhanced diversity, liquidity, cost economies and investment demand. "

The stock has appreciated by 17% since the offer was announced on January 16.