ARA Asset Management Files Detailed Bid for Cromwell

ARA boss John Lim is eager to get his hands on Australia’s Cromwell

Singapore’s ARA Asset Management leads today’s real estate headlines in Asia Pacific as the Warburg Pincus-backed fund manager formalises its takeover bid for an Aussie real estate investment firm.

A pair of Softbank-backed startups also reappear with more bad news, as WeWork loses a major tenant in Tokyo and Oyo Hotels ends a pair of its biggest office leases in India. Meanwhile on the mainland, developer sales surged past 2019 levels in the second quarter, and there’s much more in our headline roundup.

ARA Files Bid to Take Additional 29% Stake in Cromwell

ARA Asset Management is accusing Cromwell Property Group’s board of “erratic and undisciplined” behaviour in the latest salvo in its bitter battle to take over the property fund.

ARA on Tuesday lodged a bidder’s statement with the ASX detailing its offer to acquire a further 29 per cent of Cromwell at a cash per security price of $0.88125. Cromwell’s board has previously rejected ARA’s unsolicited $520 million takeover bid. Read more>>

Japan’s Rakuten to Walk Away From 700-Desk WeWork Lease

WeWork, the troubled co-working giant backed by SoftBank Group Corp, is set to suffer the loss of a major tenant in Japan as Rakuten Inc exits, according to people familiar with the matter.

Rakuten, a Japanese e-commerce giant, will let its contract run out in August without renewing, the people said, asking not to be identified because the details are private. That will leave about 700 desks empty in Tokyo. Rakuten is moving staff in its financial tech arm from the co-working spaces into its new offices, one of the people said. Read more>>

Softbank’s Oyo Hotels Terminates India Office Leases

Oyo Hotels & Homes has terminated leases at two of its flagship corporate offices in Gurugram and is renegotiating the lease on a third, sources told ET, as the cash-strapped hospitality chain — battered by low occupancies due to the Covid-19 pandemic – moves to save on real estate costs.

The SoftBank-backed company has vacated its offices at Spaze Palazo and in Udyog Vihar, invoking the ‘force majeure’ clause, the sources said. Force majeure is enforced by companies during unforeseen events or in times of natural calamities. Read more>>

Mainland Developer Sales Climb 27% in Q2 Compared to 2019

Contracted sales at major Chinese property developers resumed growth in the second quarter as the nation’s economy improved amid easing pandemic restrictions, setting the stage for a continued recovery in the second half of 2020.

In the three months ended June 30, combined contracted property sales at the nation’s 10 largest developers by asset totaled 1.127 trillion yuan, up 27.2% from 885.62 billion yuan a year earlier, according to company statements. Sales also recovered from a 0.1% year-over-year decline in the first quarter. Read more>>

Wharf’s Harbour City Offers Rent Concessions in Tsim Sha Tsui

The owner of Hong Kong’s biggest shopping centre is offering its tenants additional rent concessions, with a catch: extend the leases for at least 18 months in a market facing a third wave of coronavirus infections.

The tactic has come as a shock to retailers at Harbour City, an upmarket mall located in Tsim Sha Tsui tourist district that is vying with Causeway Bay for dwindling visitors in the city. The mall, ultimately owned by Wharf Reic, has asked its 400-odd tenants to decide by July 24 in a strongly-worded letter seen by the South China Morning Post. Read more>>

Perennial Buyout Turns Unconditional in Singapore

An offer made by a consortium of shareholders to take Perennial Real Estate Holdings private has turned unconditional, the real estate developer said in a bourse filing on Tuesday night (July 22).

It also extended the date of the close of the offer from Aug 3 to Aug 17. Earlier last month, Perennial announced that an entity called Primero Investment Holdings was offering $0.95 a share in cash for all its shares. Read more>>

Marriott Aims to Open 50 New APAC Hotels in 2020

A fifth of Marriott International’s hotels in Asia-Pacific outside China remain closed as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on the travel industry.

Though the number is now much smaller than the 50 per cent that were shuttered at the height of the outbreak, it illustrates the industry’s struggle against a pandemic that has crippled global travel and reduced people’s spending power. Read more>>

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