Deal would make CapitaLand the largest diversified real estate company in Asia

The Singapore-based company has agreed to pay S$6 billion ($4.4 billion) for two units of Temasek Holdings

(Credit: Pixabay, LinkedIn)
(Credit: Pixabay, LinkedIn)

A major acquisition would make Singapore-based CapitaLand Ltd. the largest diversified real estate company in Asia, according to the company’s new chief, Lee Chee Koon.

Lee, 43, has led CapitaLand into new markets including the United States and Europe since he became the chief executive of the Singapore-based company in September.

But CapitaLand’s most transformative deal under Lee’s leadership would be its planned acquisition of subsidiaries of Temasek Holdings Pte for S$6 billion ($4.4 billion).

CapitaLand agreed to pay a combination of cash and new stock for two units of Temasek, Ascendas Pte and Singbridge Pte, which would increase its assets to more than $116 billion across 180 cities in 32 countries.

The pending Temasek deal would benefit CapitaLand not only by increasing its assets under management but also by diversifying its geographic exposure to risk, said Marc Tan, a research analyst at KGI Securities Pte.

Sign Up for the undefined Newsletter

The deal would reduce the share of CapitaLand’s assets under management in China to 41 percent from almost 50 percent while substantially increasing CapitaLand’s presence in India.

“Ascendas will give CapitaLand access to the fast-growing business park and logistics market in India with its S$2.6 billion of assets,” Lee told Bloomberg.

Prior to its Temasek deal, CapitaLand entered the U.S. market by spending $835 million to acquire 16 multifamily properties in September.

In November, CapitaLand and Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund together paid 12.8 billion yuan ($1.8 billion) to acquire the tallest twin towers in Shanghai. [Bloomberg]Mike Seemuth