Abrdn Trust sells its portfolio to GoldenTree for £351 million
Abrdn Property Income Trust (API) has agreed to sell the vast majority of its portfolio to GoldenTree Asset Management, a US investment company, for £351 million.
The operation covers 39 properties, covering the London-listed property trust’s entire portfolio except for land at Far Ralia in the Cairngorms in Scotland, which is being sold separately.
GoldenTree, which owns Travelodge, has paid a cash deposit of £35.1 million and will pay the rest once the takeover is completed.
The transaction follows an extensive and competitive process undertaken by API and its advisers to identify a buyer for the portfolio, the trust said, “in an effort to balance the objectives of maximising returns for shareholders against the timeframe for disposals.”
The sale follows abrdn’s decision in May to wind down the company after a proposed £1 billion merger with Custodian REIT fell through.
Custodian’s offer, which would have seen API shareholders receive 0.78 Custodian shares for each API share, failed to secure the necessary 75% approval rate needed at a vote last March.
Following the failed deal, shareholders voted in May to approve changes in order to allow the trust to be wound down and sell off its assets.
“Since the shareholder vote on 28 May 2024 to put the company into a managed winddown was passed, the board, alongside the investment manager, explored the most effective means of disposing of the company’s assets,” said James Clifton-Brown, chairman, API. “Following a second round of bids, the board considered the GoldenTree Asset Management bid provided the best solution for shareholders, compared with the net present value of what might be achieved by way of individual sales over a longer period and represents a swift implementation of the shareholder resolution to conduct a managed wind down.”
The deal represents a discount of 8% to API’s external valuation of the portfolio as at 30 June 2024 of £381.6 million and implies a pro-forma net asset value of API as at 30 June 2024 of £244 million, equivalent to 64 pence per share, a premium of 6.66% to the API Share price of 60 pence as at 26 September 2024, and a premium of 20.1% to the API Share price of 53.3 pence on 28 May 2024, when shareholders approved the managed wind-down.
The deal is expected to be completed on 29 November 2024.
