Deal: Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby Berhad (Sime Darby) has announced the sale and leaseback of its industrial property portfolio, comprising 20 properties located in Queensland and the Northern Territory.

Value: AU$355.8 million

Area: M&A

Key players: The MinterEllison team advising Sime Darby was led by partners Tony Dhar (pictured), Adrian Rich and David Moore.

Staff from MinterEllison’s Brisbane, Melbourne and Canberra offices also assisted on the deal.

Deal significance: The sale and leaseback of an industrial property portfolio worth $355.8 million is underway as part of a reverse takeover of the Singapore-listed Saizen Real Estate Investment Trust (Saizen REIT) by Sime Darby Property Singapore Limited (SDPSL), an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Sime Darby.

Sime Darby’s indirect wholly owned subsidiaries Hastings Deering (Australia) Limited and Austchrome Pty Ltd currently own the portfolio, comprising 20 industrial properties in total.

VIEW ALL

The properties in the portfolio are located in Brisbane, Mackay, Townsville, Cairns, Toowoomba, Rockhampton, Mount Isa, Darwin and Alice Springs.

Tony Dhar and Adrian Rich, MinterEllison’s lead partner on the deal, described the transaction as a “significant strategic divestment and reinvestment”. They noted that the deal has attracted interest from property investors in Australia and abroad.

“The period of negotiation between Sime Darby and Saizen REIT was conducted on an extremely tight timetable. This, together with the complexity of the transaction, required seamless coordination and collaboration between our Australian team and Allen & Gledhill LLP, Sime Darby's legal adviser in Singapore, with whom we were delighted to work once again in order to bring about the best outcome for our mutual client.

“MinterEllison was able to capitalise on our firm's market leading M&A, property, trusts and foreign investment expertise to structure and execute this complex transaction.”

As part of the reverse takeover, SDPSL will also acquire a controlling stake in Japan Residential Assets Manager Limited (JRAM), in its capacity as manager of Saizen REIT. An invitation has also been made to Perpetual (Asia) Limited to become the incoming trustee of Saizen REIT.

Under the reverse takeover implementation agreement, all transactions are expected to be finalised by next year. Completion will be subject to regulatory conditions and other approvals.