Acucap shareholders vote strongly in favour of Growthpoint's takeover

Growthpoint Properties CEO, Norbert Sasse says the overwhelming approval from Acucap’s shareholders shows resounding support for this transaction.

Growthpoint's Acucap Properties takeover has cleared a major hurdle, as around 91 per cent of shares were voted in favour of the offer made by SA’s largest property fund, Growthpoint Properties.

Acucap shareholders supported all the resolutions of the proposed scheme of arrangement to acquire all the shares in Acucap that Growthpoint doesn’t already own.

Its peer, SA’s second largest property group, Redefine Properties is also playing catch-up game. It recently announced plans to acquire Leaf Capital and its Western Cape-dominated office portfolio for about R4.1bn in what could be interpreted as a vote of confidence in South African premium offices.

Growthpoint CEO, Norbert Sasse said today the overwhelming approval from Acucap’s shareholders shows resounding support for this transaction and is a strong endorsement of Growthpoint’s strategies to create value for its shareholders.

The transaction remains subject to Competition Authorities and Takeover Regulation Panel approvals.

Should these requisite approvals be obtained in April, the transaction could be effective from as early as 1 May 2015, at which point Acucap would be delisted from the JSE.

Finalisation of the proposed transaction would also see Growthpoint owning Sycom Property Fund Managers Limited and, directly or indirectly, some 99% of Sycom units.

Implementing the scheme would increase the property assets of Growthpoint by R18 billion, to nearly R100 billion. Growthpoint’s South African property portfolio alone would grow to just over R75 billion.

Growthpoint’s retail portfolio would be boosted by nearly R11 billion of significant mall assets across South Africa, including N1 City Mall and Bayside Mall in Cape Town, Greenacres in Port Elizabeth, Vaal Mall in Vanderbijlpark, Paarl Mall in Paarl, Key West in Krugersdorp and Festival Mall in Kempton Park.

Growthpoint would also gain an R7 billion portfolio of offices including prime buildings like Edward Nathan Sonnenberg in Cape Town, The Woodlands in Woodmead and Tiger Brands in Bryanston.

Two years ago‚ the JSE-listed property heavyweights, Redefine and Growthpoint were entangled in a protracted bidding war for Fountainhead’s retail-dominated portfolio. This became the biggest property bidding battle ever recorded in South Africa’s listed property sector.