The five to six final bidders in the advanced stage of the contest to buy Morgan Stanley Real Estate’s $8.9 billion Investa Property platform are believed to have lobbed bids valuing the offices on the group’s balance sheet at a premium of up to 33 per cent to their book value.
It suggests that the final price negotiated by the winning bidder could be one akin to those struck during the giddy heights of the market in 2007.
Among the parties to have made the final cut are Cromwell, which is advised by Bank of America Merrill Lynch; Dexus Property Group, advised by Deutsche Bank and Goldman Sachs and private equity giants Blackstone and Brookfield, which are both self advised.
There was divided opinion last night as to whether LaSalle Investment Management was in the final line-up and exactly what Cromwell was bidding for remained unclear.
A sixth contender could also be in the frame.
It is understood that offers for the assets on Investa’s balance sheet, which include prestigious office skyscrapers such as Sydney’s Deutsche Place, are between $2.1bn and $2.4bn.
The capitalisation rate for the transaction is expected to be less than 6 per cent.
Dexus may be partnering with the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one source said.
The shortlist of five parties was understood to have been finalised at a Morgan Stanley Real Estate board meeting in New York earlier this week, as flagged by DataRoom.
One surprise was the exclusion from the list of Charter Hall, which is advised by JPMorgan, but the exclusion of The GPT Group was somewhat anticipated.
Also excluded from the final cut was Chinese giant Fosun and US-based CBRE.
The remaining $500m of assets up for sale by Investa includes its 9 per cent stake in the listed Investa Office Fund, the co-investment in its unlisted fund, valued at about $40m, and the management rights, estimated to be worth about $250m.
MSREF was widely seen to have overpaid for the Investa business when it outlaid a bullish $6.6bn for the platform in 2007.
However, should the balance sheet assets sell at close to $2.5bn, as is being suggested, the capitalisation rates are believed to be around the same level as the 2007 deal.
It is understood that the book value for the office buildings on Investa’s balance sheet are about $1.8bn.
This article first appeared in The Australian Business Review.