Ascendas REIT enters the U.S. market with $1.22b business park portfolio acquisition

Ascendas REIT has entered into agreements to acquire a portfolio of 30 business park assets in the United States and Singapore for S$1.66 billion ($1.22 billion) from its controlling unitholder CapitaLand.

The purchase of the U.S. assets will mark the REIT’s entry into the country.

Under the terms of the proposed deal, Ascendas REIT will buy 28 properties in the United States and two in in Singapore from wholly-owned entities of CapitaLand.

The U.S. portfolio totals nearly 3.4 million square feet in the San Diego; Portland, Ore.; and Raleigh, N.C., metros. The eight San Diego assets comprise 1.1 million square feet at The Campus at Sorrento Gateway, CareFusion Campus and Innovation Corporate Center. The Portland assets include Cornell Oaks Corporate Center and Creekside Corporate Center in Beaverton, Ore., and five Portland-area properties at Perimeter Park in Morrisville, N.C., in the heart of the Research Triangle.

In Singapore, Ascendas acquired 622,000 square feet with the purchase of Nucleos and FM Global Centre.

The acquisition is expected to close later in the fourth quarter of 2019.