AIP, Tokyu Land Plan REIT IPO for Australian Properties

(Bloomberg) -- South Korea’s AIP Asset Management Co. and Tokyu Land Corp. are planning a real estate investment trust listing in Singapore backed by Australian commercial properties as soon as this year, according to people familiar with the matter.

The companies are working with advisers on the planned initial public offering, which could raise about S$400 million ($293 million), the people said. They will reach out to potential cornerstone investors as early as next week, said the people, who asked not to be named as the process is private.

Any deal would add to the $4.1 billion of property trust IPOs in Singapore over the last three years, data compiled by Bloomberg show. So far this year, the city-state has hosted two REIT listings -- United Hampshire U.S. REIT and Elite Commercial REIT -- that raised a combined $487 million.

Deliberations by AIP and Japan’s Tokyu Land are ongoing and details of the offering including the size and timing could change, said the people. A representative for AIP declined to comment, while a representative for Tokyu Land said nothing has been decided.

AIP has about $4.1 billion of assets under management with nearly 70% of them in Europe, according to its website. Among the Australian assets it owns are the Australian Red Cross headquarters in Sydney, the Australian Taxation Office in Albury and the Louisa Lawson Building in Canberra.

Tokyu Land has two listed REITs including Activia Properties Inc., which is backed by shopping malls and office buildings in Tokyo, its website shows.

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