Australian investment bank Babcock & Brown has confirmed it and the GPT Group plan to raise EUR 400 mln from an initial public offering of shares in Guernsey-based Babcock & Brown GPT European Retail Fund on Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange.
Australian investment bank Babcock & Brown has confirmed it and the GPT Group plan to raise EUR 400 mln from an initial public offering of shares in Guernsey-based Babcock & Brown GPT European Retail Fund on Euronext Amsterdam stock exchange.
Babcock & Brown said the joint venture proposed to issue 24,718,313 shares at EUR 15.20 to EUR 17.00 a share, implying an offer size of EUR 400 mln at the mid point of the offer price before any over allotments. The fund will invest in pan-European retail property sector and it anticipates a total annual shareholder return of about 11% and an annual dividend yield of around 5.5 pct of initial net asset value. Babcock & Brown and GPT will each hold at least 15% of the company after the IPO.
Babcock & Brown GPT will be seeded with a portfolio of 294 retail assets with a gross value of about EUR 1.5 bn, making it one of Europe's largest listed owners of retail assets. The initial portfolio mostly comprises supermarkets and shopping centres in Germany and Switzerland. However, Babcock & Brown said the company intends to diversify its investments across Europe.