Growthpoint Properties Australia’s $125 million equity raising to back the purchase of an office building in Sydney’s Parramatta has closed oversubscribed, reflecting strong demand from investors in the sector.
The building, at 1 Charles Street, was bought from AustralianSuper earlier in the month for $241.1m in a deal handled by CARE. The listed group launched a non-underwritten equity raising at an issue price of $2.40 per share.
Growthpoint has Merrill Lynch assisting with scaling back the oversubscribed offer. But Growthpoint managing director Timothy Collyer said that demand for shares gave credence to the group’s decision not to underwrite the offer.
Majority securityholder, Growthpoint Properties of South Africa, took up its $80m allocation of shares and it will continue to own a 64 per cent stake in the trust.
“The oversubscription showed significant securityholder support for Growthpoint, its investment strategy and the acquisition of 1 Charles Street, Parramatta in particular,” Mr Collyer said.