The boards of warehouse owner Tritax Big Box and UK Commercial Property said on Thursday they had unanimously agreed on a 924 million pound ($1.2 billion) all-share takeover deal by Tritax of its smaller rival.
The deal, which was first announced in February, will create Britain’s fourth-largest listed landlord and highlights the strong demand for warehousing, a rare bright spot for the wider real estate industry at a time when many property investments have soured.
Both companies have ties to investor abrdn: Tritax is backed by abrdn, while UKCM is currently managed by the British fund manager. Tritax Management will run the combined company once the deal is completed, the companies said.
Logistics-focused landlord LondonMetric also agreed to buy real estate investment trust LXI in a 1.9 billion pound tie-up earlier this year.
Under the terms of the Tritax deal, UKCM shareholders will get 0.444 new Tritax shares for each UKCM share, the companies said in a joint statement. The combined firm can save around 4 million pounds per year, the statement added.
Shares in Tritax and UKCP were up 1.8% and 3.6% respectively in early trade. Shares in abrdn were up 2.8%.
Source: Reuters.com