Warehouse REIT Shares Soar As Blackstone And Sixth Street Confirm £470M Bid
Shares in Warehouse REIT have surged more than 15% to around 99 pence after Blackstone Europe and Sixth Street Partners confirmed that the multilet warehouse investor turned down their £470M bid.
The consortium said that on 23 February it made a fourth indicative all-cash proposal to the board of 110.5p for Warehouse REIT. The Warehouse REIT board rejected the proposal on 28 February.
The bid valued the company at approximately £470M and represents a premium of 34.1% to the closing share price of 82.4p on 28 February, but a discount of 13% to its net asset value.
“The consortium believes the ‘Fourth Indicative Proposal’ provides a highly deliverable and compelling alternative to shareholders, attributing a full valuation for the company and its future prospects,” the companies said in a statement. “The consortium is considering its position and accordingly there can be no certainty that any offer for the company will be made.”
They now have until 31 March to make a bid for the company.
In its most recent trading update, for the three months to 31 December, Warehouse REIT said it completed 25 transactions, securing £3.5M of contracted rent. It said the transactions were reached on average 32.2% ahead of previous contracted rent.
Recent transactions brought total leasing activity for the first nine months of the financial year to 71 transactions across 1.2M SF, generating £9M of rent. On average, deals have been reached 22.1% ahead of prior rent, the company said.
Warehouse REIT completed £13M of noncore asset sales in the third quarter, the largest of which was Swift Valley Industrial Estate in Rugby, which sold for £6.1M. Overall, sales achieved were 8% ahead of March 2024 book value, bringing total disposals for the first nine months of the financial year to £74.4M, 2% ahead of book value.
