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Charter Hall WALE Limited as responsible entity of the Charter Hall Long WALE REIT (ASX:CLW) (the REIT) today announces that it has entered into an agreement to acquire an interest in a portfolio of 70 long WALE, triple net lease (NNN) convenience retail properties leased to BP Oil New Zealand Limited (bp) for NZ$130.8 million1 (the Acquisition).
The REIT will undertake a fully underwritten $60 million institutional placement (Placement) to partially fund the Acquisition and associated transaction costs, and it will also undertake a non-underwritten Security Purchase Plan (SPP) to eligible securityholders in Australia and New Zealand to raise up to $10 million (together with the Placement, the Equity Raising)2. The balance of funding for the Acquisition and associated transaction costs will be funded from available borrowing capacity.
Acquisition
The REIT has entered into an agreement to acquire a 50% interest in a new Charter Hall managed partnership3 that will acquire a 49% interest in a portfolio of 70 long WALE, NNN convenience retail properties via a sale and leaseback to bp (the bp Portfolio)4. The bp Portfolio features:
Settlement of the Acquisition is subject to New Zealand Overseas Investment Office approval.
Avi Anger, Fund manager of CLW commented:
“This portfolio represents an extension of our strong relationship with bp and is an excellent addition to CLW, further enhancing the portfolio WALE and increasing the proportion of NNN leased properties in our portfolio. This is an exciting opportunity for CLW to invest in the New Zealand market in a diversified portfolio of high quality properties leased to a high quality tenant with long WALE leases.”
1 Reflects purchase price
of CLW’s 50% interest in the Charter Hall managed partnership that will acquire a 49% interest in the bp Portfolio
2 The Equity Raising structure balances the need for certainty of proceeds received through the Placement with CLW’s desire
to provide its retail securityholders with the opportunity to participate through the SPP. Depending on the level of demand, CLW may decide to scale back applications at its absolute discretion.
3 Charter Hall Retail REIT (ASX: CQR) will acquire the
remaining 50% of the Charter Hall managed partnership
4 bp will retain a 51% interest in the bp Portfolio
5 In the first five years if NZ CPI <= 2.0%, rent review is NZ CPI (0% floor) + 0.5%; if NZ CPI > 2.0% and < 2.5%, rent review is 2.5%;
and if NZ CPI >= 2.5%, rent review is NZ CPI (4% cap). After the first five years, rent review is NZ CPI (0% floor, 4% cap)
6 Weighted by property value
Portfolio impact
Pre-Acquisition | Acquisition | Post-Acquisition | |
Number of properties | 386 | 70 | 456 |
Property valuation | $3,630m | $121m7 | $3,751m |
Weighted average capitalisation rate | 5.4% | 6.3% | 5.5% |
Occupancy | 99.8% | 100.0% | 99.8% |
Weighted average lease expiry | 14.0 years | 20.0 years | 14.2 years |
Weighted average rent reviews8 | 2.2% | NZ CPI (plus 0.5%)9 | 2.2% |
Placement
The REIT will undertake a fully underwritten institutional placement to raise approximately $60 million to fund the Acquisition and associated transaction costs. The Placement is fully underwritten by J.P. Morgan Securities Australia Limited.
The Placement will be issued at a fixed price of $4.87 per security (Placement Issue Price), which represents a:
It is intended that eligible institutional securityholders who bid for up to their ‘pro rata’ share of new securities under the Placement will be allocated their full bid, on a best endeavours basis11,12.
Securities issued under the Placement will rank equally with existing CLW Securities and will be entitled to the distribution for the three months to 30 September 2020.
Security Purchase Plan
Eligible securityholders in Australia and New Zealand will be invited to subscribe for up to $30,000 of new securities, free of brokerage and transaction costs, via a SPP. Securities issued under the SPP will rank equally with existing CLW securities from the date of issue, however as they are issued after the distribution record date, new securities will not be entitled to the distribution for the three months to 30 September 2020. The SPP issue price will be set at the Placement Issue Price less the September quarter distribution of 7.2 cents per security.
The SPP is expected to raise up to $10 million and will not be underwritten.
Further information on the SPP will be lodged with the ASX and sent to eligible securityholders on Thursday, 17 September 2020.
7 Purchase price of NZ$130.8 million converted to $ at $:NZ$ exchange rate of 1.08
8 Assumes average
CPI of 1% for the REIT's CPI-linked leases
9 Refer to footnote 4 on page 1 for details of the bp Portfolio annual rent review structure
10 Based on CLW's FY21 Operating EPS guidance of no less than 29.1 cents per security based on information currently
available (including in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic) and no unforeseen events
11 An eligible institutional securityholder's existing holding will be estimated by reference to CLW’s latest available beneficial register which shows historical
holdings as at the date of that register and may not be up to date. There is no verification or reconciliation of the holdings as shown in the historical beneficial register and accordingly this may not truly reflect the participating eligible institutional
securityholder’s actual holding. CLW and the lead manager do not have any obligation to reconcile assumed holdings (e.g. for recent trading or swap positions) when determining allocations. Institutional securityholders who do not reside in Australia
or other eligible jurisdictions will not be able to participate in the placement. CLW and the lead manager disclaim any duty or liability (including for negligence) in respect of the determination of an eligible institutional securityholder’s
allocation using their assumed holdings.
12 Eligible institutional securityholders who bid in excess of their ‘pro-rata’ share as determined by CLW and the lead manager are expected to be allocated a minimum of their ‘pro-rata’
share on a best endeavours basis, and any excess may be subject to scale back.
Distribution for the quarter ending 30 September 2020
CLW has today declared a distribution of 7.2 cents per security for the period ending 30 September 2020. The Distribution Reinvestment Plan will also be active for this period.
Financial impact
Including the impact of the Acquisition and Equity Raising and based on information currently available (including with respect to the COVID-19 pandemic) and barring any unforeseen events, CLW reaffirms guidance for FY21 Operating EPS of no less than 29.1 cents per security, which represents growth over FY20 Operating EPS of no less than 2.8%.
Following the Acquisition and the Placement, the REIT's pro-forma13:
Timetable
Event | Date |
Record date for SPP | Wednesday, 9 September |
Trading halt and announcement of the Acquisition and Equity Raising | Thursday, 10 September |
Placement bookbuild | Thursday, 10 September |
Trading of securities recommences on the ASX | Friday, 11 September |
Settlement of new securities issued under the Placement | Tuesday, 15 September |
Allotment and normal trading of new securities issued under the Placement | Wednesday, 16 September |
SPP offer opens and booklet is dispatched | Thursday, 17 September |
Record date for September quarter distribution | Wednesday, 30 September |
SPP offer closing date | Thursday, 8 October |
SPP allotment date | Thursday, 15 October |
Despatch of holding statements and normal trading of new securities issued under the SPP | Friday, 16 October |
All dates and times are indicative only and subject to change. Unless otherwise specified, all times and dates refer to AEST.
13 As at 30 June 2020, with pro forma adjustments outlined in Appendix A of the investor presentation released to the ASX on 10 September 2020
Additional information
Additional information about the Acquisition and Equity Raising including certain key risks are contained in the investor presentation released to the ASX today.
Telco Exchange Portfolio update
In September 2019, Charter Hall Exchange Investment Trust (CHEIT), in which CLW owns a 50% interest, completed the acquisition of a 49% interest in The Exchange Trust, which owns a portfolio of 36 telecommunication exchange properties (Telco Exchange Portfolio). The Telco Exchange Portfolio is 100% leased to Telstra Corporation Limited (rated A2/A–) on NNN lease terms with a WALE of 20.1 years as at 30 June 2020.
The REIT is pleased to announce that CHEIT has been rated A3 (Stable) by Moody’s. Charter Hall Exchange Finance Pty Ltd, the financing entity of Bieson Pty Ltd as trustee for CHEIT, has mandated CBA to arrange a conference call with fixed income investors with a potential 10 &/or 12-year AUD-denominated fixed rate, senior secured transaction to follow, subject to market conditions.
The REIT will provide a further update on the potential debt issuance in due course.
Announcement Authorised by the Board
Click here to view the ASX Announcement
Click here to view the Investor Presentation
Click here to view the Appendix 3B
Click here to view the Distribution Announcement