Emira Property Fund Ltd. will sell a portfolio of 25 office assets worth 1.8 billion rand to Shankly Property Investments, a new entity in which the South African real estate investment trust will hold a 20% stake, and was specifically established for this purpose.

The deal, Emira's largest to date, brings the company's program of rebalancing its portfolio out of offices to a close. Emira stands to generate a yield of 10.47% through the disposal, proceeds of which will be used to finance the trust's offshore expansion and decrease its local debt levels.

The assets, which will serve as Shankly's seed portfolio in South Africa, are mainly in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State. The largest asset in the portfolio is the 232 million-rand Corobay Corner P-grade offices in Menlyn in Gauteng's Pretoria area.

Other stake holders in Shankly Property are Zungu Investment Co. and Boyno Trade and Invest Pty. Ltd. that will take up a 51% and 29% interest in the entity, respectively.

The trade is subject to the approval of the competition authorities, among other conditions.

As of Oct. 10, US$1 was equivalent to 14.67 rand.