Vukile set to acquire Capital Land in R106m deal

Vukile Property Fund CEO, Laurence Rapp , describes the transaction as the next step in Vukile’s successful corporate action with Synergy. “This brings even greater alignment to the deal.”

Vukile Property Fund has announced it will acquire Capital Land Asset Management, an external management company owned by Synergy Income Fund, in a transaction valued at R106 million.

Merger and acquisition activity in the JSE’s R350bn listed property sector continues apace, with Vukile Property Fund finally gaining control of small-cap retail fund Synergy Property Fund.

In the deal announced today, Vukile secures its outright ownership of Capital Land, which is responsible for the operations and management of the Synergy portfolio.

Laurence Rapp, CEO of Vukile, describes the transaction as the next step in Vukile’s successful corporate action with Synergy. “This brings even greater alignment to the deal.”

Synergy became a listed subsidiary of Vukile last month when Vukile gained control of Synergy’s assets.

Vukile holds 64.61% of all Synergy voting securities. Now, Capital Land is set to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Vukile, bringing the external manager of Synergy into the Vukile stable.

The transaction is subject to various conditions, including due diligence being completed by Vukile. If these conditions are met, the transaction will be effective from 1 May 2015.

South Africa's listed property sector had a surprisingly good year in 2014, thanks to buoyant retail figures, relatively benign moves in the bond market and a weakened rand.