See below article:
"The A$4.96bn offer comprises A$4.64bn for Centro?s assets and management rights, a 3 per cent premium to June 30 book value, plus a further A$320m for Centro?s stakes in two funds."
CER's Aust assets valued at approx $1.6b. 3% premium would increase value of assets by $48m or 2c NTA.
43c NTA for CER is still a joke given we are the managers of our own properties now.........
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/79c4e5f2-8d0b-11e0-815d-00144feab49a.html?ftcamp=rss#axzz1OANaYUwE
Lend Lease consortium in A$5bn Centro bid
By Peter Smith in Sydney
Published: June 2 2011 12:57 | Last updated: June 2 2011 12:57
A consortium led by Australian property group Lend Lease has tabled a A$4.96bn ($5.29bn) indicative cash offer for the Australian assets of Centro, according to two people close to the situation.
The offer from the consortium, which has financial backing from Government of Singapore Investment Corporation, the Singaporean sovereign wealth fund, and Canada Pension Plan, was formally lodged in February but the debt-laden shopping mall group has never publicly acknowledged it, these people said.
EDITOR?S CHOICE
Blackstone supported by real estate holdings - Apr-21.Lex: Centro - Feb-28.Blackstone wins Centro malls bid - Feb-28.Buy-out firms to bid for Centro?s assets - Dec-29.Bilfinger divests Australian unit for A$1.06bn - Dec-21..The people said the offer was fully financed, pitched at a premium to the group?s asset value and subject to four weeks of confirmatory due diligence.
They added that it was not designed to derail an amalgamation process that Centro is pursuing to simplify its complex structure by merging Centro Properties Group with its 51 per cent-owned subsidiary Centro Retail Trust.
Centro Properties became one of Australia?s most high-profile casualties of the global financial crisis when it defaulted on loans and was forced into a ?workout? with banks.
It followed a debt-fuelled international acquisition spree near the top of the market. Centro accumulated total gross debts of nearly A$20bn after building a portfolio of 670 shopping malls in the US and another 102 centres in Australia.
However, the group?s prospects have improved since it agreed this year to sell its US portfolio to Blackstone, the US private equity group, for $9.4bn.
When announcing that sale, Centro said it was in talks with senior lenders, which are mainly hedge funds, and other Centro-managed funds about an amalgamation of its Australian entities, which carry about A$9bn of gross debt.
That process is complex, requiring backing from a number of parties including Centro?s respective management teams, shareholders and various classes of debt holders. It comes as a debt stabilisation agreement, struck in January 2008, is set to expire in December.
When Centro?s directors sign off on June 30 accounts this year, they must also provide guidance on the group?s ability to continue as a going concern.
?This is a bona fide bid that needs to be disclosed,? said a banker monitoring the situation about Lend Lease?s offer.
The Lend Lease consortium hopes to get Centro and its advisers to the negotiating table to explore what it believes is a compelling alternative to amalgamation and one that Centro shareholders should have the opportunity to consider.
But a person close to Centro said its stakeholders did not find Lend Lease?s February offer attractive.
Centro told the Financial Times: ?If a superior alternative is presented to the company, then the boards and responsible entities will consider it, but in the meantime Centro continues to focus on the task at hand.?
It added that after reviewing a range of options, including numerous offers for all or parts of the business, it had decided that ?recapitalisation of the remaining business represented the best outcome for security-holders?.
Lend Lease?s offer was addressed to Paul Cooper, Centro Properties chairman; Peter Day, chairman of Centro Retail Trust; and Robert Tsenin, chief executive of Centro Retail Trust, according to the people familiar with the situation.
The A$4.96bn offer comprises A$4.64bn for Centro?s assets and management rights, a 3 per cent premium to June 30 book value, plus a further A$320m for Centro?s stakes in two funds.
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