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(Sharecast News) - Segro confirmed on Wednesday that it has agreed heads of terms for the formation of a new UK logistics joint venture with a "major" international institutional investor.
The 50:50 JV is to develop and operate three major UK logistics parks in key locations, which, when fully-let, are expected to deliver a total of around 925,000 sq m of space, equating to an anticipated 135m headline rent and fully developed gross asset value of approximately 3bn.
Segro plans to seed the joint venture with three of its prime logistics parks in strategically important UK distribution locations: Radlett, Coventry and Northampton, currently comprising 225,000 sq m of fully leased income producing assets and 380 acres of developable land.
The parks will be sold to the JV at an agreed price of about 1bn, in line with latest reported book value and relevant capital expenditure.
Chief executive David Sleath said: "This latest strategic partnership allows us to bring together some of the UK's most attractive logistics parks within a capital-efficient structure, deepening our investment capacity and showcasing the strength of our asset management platform."
Last month, it emerged that Segro had rejected a 12.6bn takeover approach from US real estate giant Prologis.
Under the terms of the proposed combination, Segro shareholders would receive 0.084 new Prologis shares for every Segro share they hold. Based on the closing price of 23 June, the deal implies a value of 925p for each Segro share. Following completion, Segro shareholders would hold around 10.5% of Prologis' issued share capital.
However, Segro said the board had "unanimously and unequivocally" rejected the proposal, arguing that it fell "a long way short" in terms of valuation.
In a statement on Tuesday, Segro insisted it was confident in its standalone investment case as it accused Prologis of trying to buy the company "on the cheap" after the US firm published an investor presentation outlining the strategic and financial rationale of a deal.
At 1210 BST, the shares were 0.4% higher at 878.40p.
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