AllCo – SGX
CLAIM BY (1) GUY CARPENTER & COMPANY PRIVATE LIMITED, (2) WILLIAM M. MERCER (S) PTE LTD, AND (3) MERCER OLIVER WYMAN PTE LTD
The Board of Directors of Allco (Singapore) Limited (the “Manager”) wishes to announce that Allco (Singapore) Limited, in its capacity as the manager of Allco Commercial Real Estate Investment Trust (“Allco REIT”) (SGX:ALLC), together with British and Malayan Trustees Limited, in its capacity as trustee of Allco REIT (the “Trustee”) and Unicorn Square Limited, have, on 5 September 2007, been served with a Writ and an Indorsement of Claim (collectively, the “Writ”) by Guy Carpenter & Company Private Limited, William M. Mercer (S) Pte Ltd and Mercer Oliver Wyman Pte Ltd (collectively, the “Claimants”). Unicorn Square Limited is the master tenant of the China Square Central Property (being the premises located at 18, 20 and 22 Cross Street, Singapore) owned by Allco REIT.
The Claimants were tenants in a 15-storey office and retail development known as Marsh & McLennan Centre at 18 Cross Street, which comprises a part of the China Square Central Property. Their respective leases expired on 30 June 2007. In the Indorsement of Claim, the Claimants have claimed that they are entitled to a renewal of their leases from 1 July 2007 to 30 June 2012, based on the terms of the leases which have expired, and/or damages. The Manager has been informed that the Claimants will file a Statement of Claim in due course.
The Manager intends to defend the claims made by the Claimants vigorously, and also to instruct the Trustee to do so. The Manager has taken legal advice and is of the opinion that the claims are without merit. The leases were not renewed as a result of the Claimants’ failure to properly exercise the options to renew. Notwithstanding the expiry of their leases, the Claimants have remained in occupation of the premises, and it has been made clear to them that the continued occupation (pending the determination of the issues by the court), is on the basis that they are holding over and therefore liable for double rental. In the meantime, monthly rental payments received from the Claimants have been accepted on the basis that they are payments on account for the double rent payable in the period of occupation from 1 July 2007 onwards.
In the event that the Claimants succeed in their claims, they will be entitled to a renewal of the leases on substantially the same terms as the earlier leases. The Manager’s position is that the Claimants, having remained in occupation throughout, would not have suffered any damage.
In the event that the Claimants fail in their claims, but desire to remain in the premises, they will be required to enter into fresh leases on terms to be agreed. They will also be liable to pay double rental for the period of holding over. In either case, rental is and will continue to be payable to the Trustee under the terms of the master lease between the Trustee and Unicorn Square Limited, and thus the income of Allco REIT derived from the China Square Central Property will not be affected by the proceedings commenced by the Claimants.
Further announcements will be made by the Manager as and when appropriate.
Source : SGX
Rickmers – BT
Rickmers signs deal to buy 4 new vessels
This, together with a recent acquisition, will more than double its capacity
RICKMERS Maritime, which was floated on the Singapore Exchange (SGX) mainboard in May, has set sail to more than double its contracted fleet capacity. The business trust, which owns and operates containerships, said yesterday that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to purchase four new 4,250 TEU (twenty-foot equivalent unit) vessels at US$69 million each.
This acquisition, together with a recently announced acquisition of four 13,100 TEU container vessels, will propel Rickmers to a contracted fleet capacity of 110,310 TEUs, up from 40,910 TEU.
The latest four vessels, to be acquired from Polaris Shipmanagement Company, are scheduled for delivery between February and December 2009 from the Jiangsu shipping facilities of Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings), also an SGX mainboard company.
Each vessel, to be paid on delivery, will commence service upon delivery with seven-year, fixed rate time charters to Hanjin Shipping in Seoul at US$25,950 per day.
Hanjin, Korea’s largest carrier that operates about 60 liner and tramper services transporting more than 100 million tonnes of cargo annually worldwide, also has the option to extend the charter period for another three years at a higher rate of US$27,950 per day.
Each of the new vessels is expected to contribute about US$9 million in revenue and US$7 million in Ebitda (earnings, before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) per annum in the initial years, which should add to distributable cash flow, said Quah Ban Huat, CFO of Rickmers’ trustee-manager.
Financing is being arranged, he said.
The four vessels are among the nine 4,250 TEU vessels that Rickmers said, during its IPO, that it would have the right of first offer to purchase.
‘With this acquisition in place, we will boast a more diversified network of liner companies that we collaborate closely with,’ said Thomas Preben Hansen, CEO of the trustee-manager.
First Reit – SGX
Please click here for more detail of the announcement.
Suntec – UOBKH
Payment for One Raffles Quay
Proposed acquisition of One Raffles Quay. Suntec REIT has entered a conditional share purchase agreement with Cavell (SPV holds one-third of issued share capital of One Raffles Quay) to acquire One Raffles Quay (ORQ) for S$941.5m. The acquisition is expected to be yield-accretive, taking into account potential rental top-up payments of S$103.5m over 54 months. 10% new equity for the acquisition. Suntec is paying for ORQ via issue of new units worth S$94.5m and the balance in cash. The cash portion would be satisfied with Suntec’s existing debt capacity.
No change to our earnings estimates. The acquisition is targetted to complete by 1Q08, upon which Suntec REIT’s total portfolio would increase to S$4.8b. We maintain our DPS estimates as we have already factored in the acquisition.
Lower target price due to increase in cost of capital. We increase our assumed risk free rate by 20bp and risk premium by 50bp due to greater market volatility. We reduce our fair price from S$2.29 to S$2.06 due to higher WACC assumptions. Maintain HOLD.
Rickmers – SGX
RICKMERS MARITIME SPEEDS UP ACCRETIVE GROWTH WITH ACQUISITION OF FOUR 4,250 TEU CONTAINER VESSELS
Seven-year time charters to largest Korean liner shipping company
Acquisitions expected to be yield-accretive
Continues rapid expansion of fleet capacity
Singapore, 12th September 2007 – Rickmers Trust Management Pte. Ltd. (“RTM”), the trustee-manager of Rickmers Maritime, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a memorandum of understanding (“MOU”) to acquire four 4,250 TEU container vessels (the “Vessels”) from Polaris Shipmanagement Company Limited pursuant to the right of first offer granted to RTM under the Omnibus Agreement dated 24 April 2007 entered into by (1) RTM (acting on behalf of Rickmers Maritime), (2) Rickmers Holding GmbH Cie. KG, (3) Pacific Holdings International GmbH & Cie. KG and (4) Mr. Bertram R. C. Rickmers. The new acquisitions are in addition to the recently announced acquisition of four 13,100 TEU container vessels, which together will increase Rickmers Maritime’s current total contracted fleet capacity by 170% from 40,910 TEU to 110,310 TEU.
The four new Vessels are scheduled to be delivered between February and December 2009 from Yangzijiang Shipbuilding (Holdings) Ltd.’s (“Yangzijiang”) new shipbuilding facilities in the Jiangsu province of the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”). Yangzijiang is one of the leading shipbuilders in the PRC and is listed on the Mainboard of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited (“SGX-ST”). The purchase price of each vessel is US$69.0 million, to be paid upon delivery of the respective Vessels to Rickmers Maritime.
Each vessel will commence service upon delivery with seven-year, fixed-rate time charters to Hanjin Shipping, Seoul (the “Charterer”) at US$25,950 per day. Upon expiration of the initial seven-year charter period for each vessel, the Charterer has the option to extend the charter period for an additional three years at US$27,950 per day. Hanjin Shipping is Korea’s largest carrier that operates approximately 60 liner and tramper services transporting over 100 million tons of cargo annually worldwide. It ranks among the world’s top 10 container carriers1. The Vessels will be built based on the same design as Rickmers Maritime’s current fleet of 4,250 TEU vessels, and this is expected to result in economies of scale and operating efficiencies. Each of the Vessels will be 260 metres in length, 32.25 metres in breadth and will have a cargo carrying capacity of 50,000 metric tonnes. The MAN B&W 49,720 horsepower fuel-efficient engines will allow each vessel to sail at a service speed of 24.5 knots.
The Vessels are among the nine 4,250 TEU vessels that were disclosed in Rickmers Maritime’s Initial Public Offering Prospectus2 as falling under the right of first offer granted to RTM through Rickmers Group. These Vessels will provide a boost to Rickmers Maritime’s already fastgrowing fleet capacity. Last month, RTM announced the acquisition of four mega-sized container vessels, which at 13,100 TEU are among the largest container vessels in the world to be built.
Mr. Thomas Preben Hansen, Chief Executive Officer of RTM said: “With this MOU, Rickmers Maritime is taking yet another major step towards achieving growth through accretive acquisitions with well-established and internationally renowned counterparties. Hanjin Shipping is the largest Korean container liner shipping company and we are proud to have them as our partner. With this acquisition in place, we will boast a more diversified network of liner companies that we collaborate closely with.”
Mr. Quah Ban Huat, Chief Financial Officer of RTM, added, “Each of the new Vessels is expected to contribute approximately US$9 million in revenue and US$7 million in EBITDA3 per annum in its initial years, which should lead to an increase in distributable cash flow once the Vessels are delivered and operating. Financing the new acquisitions is currently being arranged and will be announced as soon as it is finalised. Going forward, we will continue to seek yield accretive acquisitions as part of our growth strategy and goal to deliver positive returns to our Unitholders.”
The purchase of the Vessels is subject to the entry into of Memorandum of Agreements. The transaction will be classified as an interested person transaction under the Listing Manual of the SGX-ST and is subject to the approval of Unitholders at an extraordinary general meeting (“EGM”) to be convened. A circular in relation to the acquisition containing more detailed financial information, a notice of the EGM and the recommendation of the audit committee will be dispatched to Unitholders in due course.
1 Source: AXS-Alphaliner TOP 100, Operated fleets as at 12 September 2007
2 Dated 24 April 2007
3 EBITDA to be net earnings before interest, undrawn credit facility fees, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of deferred financing fees, drydocking expenses and charter contracts.
Source : SGX