Industrials REIT agrees to takeover bid from Blackstone

(Sharecast News) - Real estate investment trust Industrials REIT said on Friday that it has agreed to a takeover offer from alternative asset manager Blackstone. Industrials REIT stated it had agreed to a £511.19m takeover offer from Sussex Bidco, a newly-formed limited partnership indirectly owned by investment funds advised by affiliates of Blackstone. Including debt and liabilities, the value of the deal comes to £700.0m.

The London-listed group added that both it and Bidco had agreed to a 168.0p per share offer for the group, representing a 42.4% premium to its closing price on 31 March.

Chairman Richard Grant said: "Over the past few years Industrials has successfully pivoted its business to focus on the UK MLI segment. Strong occupier demand has continued to drive substantial rental uplifts across our portfolio and our assets remain highly affordable and continue to attract an increasingly diverse range of businesses. Despite our strong financial position and focused strategy, the company's access to capital and ability to deliver shareholder value is naturally subject to external factors, many of which are outside of our control.

"The board has therefore been able to evaluate today's recommendation from a position of strength. Mindful of the growth opportunity in the industrial real estate sector, initial approaches were rejected. However, following careful consideration and reflecting on the uncertain macroeconomic backdrop, we believe this offer is in the best interests of Industrials shareholders providing them with cash certainty at an attractive premium to the pre-offer share price and significantly accelerating the value that could be realised by Industrials if it were to remain listed."

As of 0830 BST, Industrials REIT shares were up 1.65% at 166.20p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com