Link Asset Management Limited (Link), the Manager of Link Real Estate Investment Trust (Link REIT; Hong Kong stock code: 823), announced today (Tuesday) that its HK$18.8 billion rights issue was 240.25% subscribed upon overwhelming support from its qualifying unitholders and investors.
Link REIT announced on 10 February 2023 its one-for-five rights issue at a subscription price of HK$44.20. In aggregate, Link REIT had received valid acceptances and applications for 1,022,610,969 units from its qualifying unitholders and investors as at the end of the subscription period of the rights issue at 4:00 pm on 21 March 2023. This represented a total subscription rate of 240.25% when compared to the 425,640,848 rights units available under the rights issue. The oversubscription was driven by excess applications from our qualifying unitholders, totalling 622,834,823 units, or 146.33% of the available rights units.
Nicholas Allen, Link REIT’s Chairman, said:
“We sincerely thank our unitholders for the high take-up of the rights units and, most importantly, for the ongoing trust they place in us. The rights issue has strengthened Link REIT’s capital base. We are confident that our financial strength will position us to capture opportunities and allow us to continue delivering stable distributions and growth.”
George Hongchoy, Link REIT’s Chief Executive Officer, said:
“We are encouraged to see our unitholders, including many who have been with us since our listing in 2005, chose to grow with us in our ongoing journey of transformation. We see real estate assets being repriced and we believe Link REIT, particularly following this rights issue, is well positioned to capture these emerging growth opportunities. The rights issue will further solidify our position as a leading Asia Pacific real estate investor and manager.”
Dealing in the rights units in fully paid form on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited is expected to commence at 9:00 a.m. on 30 March 2023. Unit certificates for the fully paid rights units and refund cheques for wholly or partially unsuccessful excess applications will be despatched on 29 March 2023.
The net proceeds of the rights issue will amount to approximately HK$18.5 billion after expenses. We expect to use the net proceeds to repay existing debt, pursue investment opportunities and as general working capital. More specifically:
More information about the subscription results is contained in the announcement posted on HKEXnews and Link REIT’s website.
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About Link
Link Real Estate Investment Trust (Hong Kong stock code: 823), is the largest REIT in Asia by market capitalisation#. It is managed by Link Asset Management Limited, a leading real estate investor and asset manager in the world. Since its listing in 2005 as the first REIT in Hong Kong, Link REIT has been 100% held by public and institutional investors. It is a constituent of the Hong Kong securities market benchmark Hang Seng Index, as well as a component of the Dow Jones Sustainability Asia Pacific Index, the FTSE4Good Index Series and the Hang Seng Corporate Sustainability Index. From its home in Hong Kong, Link Asset Management Limited owns and manages a diversified portfolio including retail facilities, car parks, offices and logistics assets spanning from China’s Beijing, Greater Bay Area (Hong Kong, Guangzhou and Shenzhen), and Yangtze River Delta centred around Shanghai, to the UK’s London, Australia’s Sydney and Melbourne and Singapore*. Link Asset Management Limited seeks to extend its portfolio growth trajectory and grasp expansion opportunities in different markets in pursuit of sustainable growth.
For details, please visit https://www.linkreit.com.
#Source: Factset
*Proposed acquisition announced on 28 December 2022; Pending completion
Disclaimer
THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN, INTO OR FROM THE UNITED STATES OR ANY OTHER JURISDICTIONS WHERE SUCH RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IS NOT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAWS OR WOULD RESULT IN ANY REQUIREMENT TO COMPLY WITH ANY GOVERNMENTAL OR OTHER CONSENT OR ANY REGISTRATION, FILING OR OTHER FORMALITY WHICH LINK ASSET MANAGEMENT LIMITED (THE "LINK") IN ITS CAPACITY AS MANAGER OF LINK REAL ESTATE INVESTMENT TRUST ("LINK REIT") REGARDS AS INEXPEDIENT (COLLECTIVELY, THE “EXCLUDED JURISDICTIONS”).
This news release is issued by the directors of Link, who accept full responsibility for the content hereof. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited, The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited and the Securities and Futures Commission of Hong Kong take no responsibility for the content of this news release.
This news release is for information purposes only. It does not, and is not intended to, constitute an offer, invitation or solicitation to acquire, purchase, dispose of, subscribe for or underwrite any securities in Link REIT or to acquire any interest in or participate in any interest in Link REIT in any jurisdiction. In particular, it does not constitute, nor does it contain any information or material which may result in it: (i) being deemed to be a prospectus under the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance (Chapter 32 of the Laws of Hong Kong) or an advertisement or extract from or abridged version of a prospectus within the meaning of the Companies (Winding Up and Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance; (ii) being regarded as or deemed to be an advertisement, invitation or document (the terms "advertisement", "invitation" and "document" are as defined under section 102 of the Securities and Futures Ordinance (Chapter 571 of the Laws of Hong Kong)) which is or contains any offer or invitation to the public of Hong Kong to enter into or offer to enter into an agreement to acquire, purchase, dispose of, subscribe for or underwrite any securities in Link REIT or to acquire any interest in or participate in any interest in or offer to acquire any interest in or participate in any interest in Link REIT; or (iii) otherwise being regarded as or deemed to have effected an offer or invitation to the public of Hong Kong in respect of the securities in or interests in Link REIT without compliance with the laws of Hong Kong or being able to invoke any exemption available under the laws of Hong Kong. Neither this news release nor anything in this news release shall form the basis for any contract or commitment whatsoever or any decision to acquire, purchase, dispose of, subscribe for or underwrite such securities of Link REIT.
The securities referred to in this news release have not been, and will not be, registered under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933 (as amended) (the “U.S. Securities Act”) or with any securities regulatory authority of or under any applicable securities laws of any state or jurisdiction in the United States or any other Excluded Jurisdiction and may not be offered, sold, acquired, taken up, exercised, resold, renounced, transferred or delivered, directly or indirectly, within such jurisdictions except in reliance on an exemption from, or in a transaction not subject to, registration under the U.S. Securities Act, or in compliance with any applicable securities laws. No public offering of the securities referred to in this news release is being, has been or will be made in the United States or any other Excluded Jurisdiction.
You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements contained in this news release, which speak only as at the date of this news release. By their nature, forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. Expectations reflected in any such forward-looking statements are subject to change and neither Link nor its directors undertake any obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements in this news release.
This news release does not constitute any recommendation regarding the securities in Link REIT and cannot be relied on for any investment contract, commitment or decision. The contents of this news release should not be construed as legal, business or tax advice. If you are in any doubt about any matters in this news release, you should obtain your own professional advice.