CER 0.00% 32.0¢ centro retail group

Ok got my follow up now to figure out what it all...

  1. 432 Posts.
    Ok got my follow up now to figure out what it all means??

    Cheers
    Hotlegs

    Centro financiers press for asset sales as Stockland circles EXCLUSIVE: Turi Condon and Bridget Carter From: The Australian October 28, 2010 12:00AM

    FINANCIERS of Centro group want more than $2 billion worth of the company's shopping centres to be put to a formal sales process.
    The move follows a meeting in New York last week at which the debt-laden Centro's chief executive, Robert Tsenin, updated the group's myriad lenders on its position.

    The US portfolio, with a book value of $US9.5bn ($9.8bn), could also be brought forward as a "platform" deal, or be broken up under its eight geographic regions, sources suggested. It comes as evidence mounts that Stockland could be a contender to swallow a major slice of the Centro portfolio of properties, after it sold its 13.1 per cent stake in the GPT Group this week -- a stake initially purchased to gain control of GPT's quality shopping centres.

    Other parties expected to circle Centro assets are Colonial First State Global Asset Management, Lend Lease and Charter Hall.

    Start of sidebar. Skip to end of sidebar.
    .End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
    In what is expected to be a highly complex selldown, sources suggest there would be a launch of a formal process to sell Centro properties by the end of the year.

    The sale would involve about 27 properties within the $2bn Centro Australia Wholesale Fund (CAWF) and properties where the listed Centro Retail Group (CER) holds stakes in properties jointly with CAWF.

    CER owns a 50 per cent stake in the Centro Galleria shopping mall in Perth, Centro Mildura in Victoria and The Glen Shopping Centre in Melbourne. Together the three centres are worth more than $1bn.

    The Australian portfolios could be offloaded in parcels that would deliver buyers 100 per cent of some centres.

    There were plans to sell the CAWF properties in 2008, but the global financial crisis depleted the pool of potential buyers.

    CER is trading at 18.5c, but its net tangible asset backing is 33c.

    Mr Tsenin was at a New York meeting last weekend to discuss asset sales, accelerating the restructure and the company's financial status, sources said.

    It was believed that management's relationship with its banks was breaking down, with some long-term lenders -- believed to include Commonwealth Bank and National Australia Bank -- agitating for greater action to recover monies from Centro.

    The banking syndicates' advisers to Centro Properties are JPMorgan and Moelis & Co, while UBS is advising Centro Retail.

    Delivering Centro's 2010 full-year results, Mr Tsenin said there was $18.6bn worth of shopping centres and $18.4bn of related debt across the Centro Group, including its managed funds.

    The property group's troubles began in December 2007, when it was unable to refinance $3.9bn worth of debt in the deteriorating credit market.

    Stockland would not comment on the speculation yesterday. However, it clarified that the company would not receive a large inflow of cash from offloading the GPT stake because it was held in a derivative structure.

 
watchlist Created with Sketch. Add CER (ASX) to my watchlist

Currently unlisted public company.

arrow-down-2 Created with Sketch. arrow-down-2 Created with Sketch.