Listed property loan stock, SA Retail Properties plans to buy a portion of Sharemax Investments’ property portfolio.

The portfolio is made up of 14 shopping centres and the purchase price is just over R1,1bn.

SA Retail Properties will pay for the transaction by issuing linked units or paying cash.

Should the acquisition go through, the enlarged fund would be one of the biggest property funds in the country.

The deal would see SA Retail’s portfolio grow more than 60% to nearly R3bn and would be made up of 39 properties.

Shopping centres in the property syndicate’s portfolio include Midway Mews in Midrand, North Park Mall in Pretoria, Davenport Square in Durban and St George's Square in George.

Peter Sparks, SA Retail MD, said the value of the centres range from R30m to R250m.

Sharemax is one of the largest unlisted property investment companies and over the last seven years, has promoted 30 separate syndications.

More than 15 000 institutional and individual investors have invested in the syndications, which are valued at over R1,5bn.

Sparks added that he could not comment on the financial effects of the deal at the moment and a detailed announcement would follow.

The transaction is subject to due diligence of the portfolio by SA Retail, regulatory , and SA Retail linked unitholders approval and shareholders of Sharemax property-owning companies.

The share price closed unchanged at R10 giving the company a market cap of R2,2bn.

Source: Moneyweb - www.moneyweb.co.za

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