This article is from the Australian Property Journal archive
CHARTER Hall Retail REIT and Hostplus have extended the takeover offer for Hotel Property Investments (HPI), after the pub landlord rejected its final bid last month.
CQR has pushed the closing date for the takeover offer to 18 November 2024, to allow additional time for stakeholders to consider the bid.
This move comes a day after Charter Hall Wholesale Management Limited increased its relevant interest in HPI Securities to 22.11%, after recent acceptance instructions under their facility.
On 30 October, in CQR’s AGM address it noted its previous strategic 7.5% interest in the c.$700 HPI for $49 million.
“We have made a joint takeover approach with Hostplus, our partner in the Long Wale Investment Partnership 2, to acquire the remaining securities in HPI of which we now jointly own 15%. We regard our offer as attractive relative to HPI’s pre-bid security price,” said Roger Davis, independent non-executive director and chair at CQR.
“If our bid is successful, we see this as a highly complementary addition to the CQR portfolio. Importantly, we remain disciplined. We have already declared our bid final and if we are not successful, we continue to see other good opportunities in shopping centres and net lease retail to continue our on-going portfolio curation, driving earnings growth for investors.”
The revised offer price was at the time reportedly Charter Hall and Hostplus’ best and final and will not be increased in the absence of a competing proposal, with HPI responding that the revised offer fails to provide any premium to HPI’s NTA.
And came after the offer was increased from $3.65 to $3.85 cash per HPI security in the week prior.
HPI holds 59 pub and hotel assets across the country with a portfolio worth an estimated $1.2 billion, while the offer places HPI as valued at $757 million.
HPI reported its business as financially strong with robust balance sheet. With HPI has providing distributions growth guidance for FY25 of 3.7%, up from 2.5% on 10 October 2024.
