S&P Global Market Intelligence offers our top picks of Asia-Pacific real estate news stories and more published throughout the week. Please note that some entries may have links to third-party sources that may require a subscription.
M&A from Asia
* Global Logistic Properties Ltd.'s privatization journey is far from the finish line, but this week it reached a milestone with the Singapore bourse approving its delisting proposal. Earlier, GLP said it expects to complete the deal on or before April 14, 2018, subject to shareholders' approval and the satisfaction of other conditions.
In other news, GLP this week expanded in China by setting up new units and acquiring three new indirect subsidiaries focused on distribution facilities and services.
* Shareholders of CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd. and CK Asset Holdings Ltd. approved the companies' acquisition of a European sub-metering company. Under the deal, CK Asset and CK Hutchison's CK Infrastructure Holdings Ltd. will make respective investments of €2.93 billion and €1.58 billion in a joint venture company that will own ista Luxemburg GmbH.
Only in Australia
* France's AccorHotels is offering to take over Mantra Group Ltd., a deal that values the Australian company at A$1.18 billion. The offer has the Mantra board's backing and will combine Australia's two biggest hotel operators. The combined group would have 50,000 rooms across 300 hotels.
* The offer period for Aurora Funds Management Ltd.'s takeover of RNY Property Trust has been extended automatically due to an increase in the buyer's voting rights in the target. The offer will now close Oct. 24 instead of Oct. 11.
* Australia's Takeovers Panel was asked by NEXTDC Ltd. to look into 360 Capital Group's ongoing takeover of Asia Pacific Data Centre, with 360's competitor claiming that an aspect of the terms of the bid needs further clarification and security holders' approval. It filed for interim orders that would stop 360 Capital from buying shares of the target on the market, but ultimately wants the panel to reverse or unwind all APDC securities received for tender and acquired by 360 Capital on the market between the Sept. 26 release of the bidder's statement and until a corrective disclosure is released.
* Astro Japan Property Group received approval from the Australian bourse to delist Oct. 10, following the closing of Blackstone Real Estate-managed funds' acquisition of the company's portfolio.
* ESR Pte. Ltd. and certain of its subsidiaries bought an approximately A$50.9 million stake in Centuria Capital Group this week.
Later, Centuria Capital increased its interest in Centuria Industrial REIT by 3.97% to 17.75%, funded by a A$60 million equity raise.
Real estate news
* Pace Ascend Ltd. agreed to buy a mixed-use development project in Hong Kong from Wharf (Holdings) Ltd. for HK$9.00 billion. Bloomberg News notes that the sale is a record high in Hong Kong's Kwun Tong district for a commercial asset on a per-square-foot basis and takes the second spot in the list of most expensive property deals in Asia this year behind CapitaLand Commercial Trust's purchase of Singapore's Asia Square Tower 2 at a S$2.1 billion price tag.
Meanwhile, a HK$10 billion, 2,685-square-meter site in the special administrative region's Central district received nine bids this week.
* Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam said in her first policy address that details about a program to provide affordable starter homes for middle-class families will be announced mid-2018. It is tipped that local developers might be required to allocate a number of units in their developments to support the cause.
* GLL Real Estate Partners GmbH acquired a logistics portfolio in Finland for an undisclosed amount, with the transaction being noteworthy for being the first-ever inflow of capital from South Korea to Finland.
Celest Wong contributed to this report.