Hongkong Land shares end 5.5% higher on S$1.45 billion sale of MBFC stake

The group is selling its share to Keppel Reit, which will have a two-thirds interest in the property upon completion

Shares of Hongkong Land rose on Thursday (Dec 11) following news of the S$1.45 billion sale of its stake in Marina Bay Financial Centre (MBFC) Tower 3 to Keppel Reit.

The counter ended Thursday 5.5 per cent or US$0.36 higher, at US$6.93, with 7.5 million shares changing hands.

On Thursday morning, Keppel Reit announced in a bourse filing that it had agreed to acquire an additional one-third interest in the MBFC asset from Sageland, a subsidiary of Hongkong Land.

Upon completion of the deal, expected on Dec 31, Keppel Reit’s interest in the property will increase to two-thirds.

To fund the acquisition, the real estate investment trust launched an underwritten non-renounceable preferential offering to raise gross proceeds of around S$886.3 million.

About S$875.6 million, or 98.8 per cent of the gross proceeds, will be used to partially finance the acquisition.

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MBFC was originally jointly developed by a consortium comprising Hongkong Land, Keppel Land and Cheung Kong.

In response to queries from The Business Times on the rationale behind the investment, Hongkong Land said it would make an announcement soon.

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