The board of Ediston Property Investment Company (EPIC) has agreed a deal to sell the company’s entire portfolio of UK retail parks to US company Realty Income for £196.8m.
The company expects to have net assets of £152.2m, equivalent to 72.0 pence per share. This is a 17.7% premium to the share price on 15 March 2023 (the closing price immediately prior to the strategic review announcement), a 14.0% premium to the share price on 2 August 2023 (the closing price immediately prior to the strategic review update announcement), a 10.8% premium to the average share price over the 12 months to 2 August 2023; and a 10.8% discount to the latest published NAV of 80.77 pence, as at 30 June 2023.
The board said that it had received a number of proposals for the company after launching a review into its future in March, including several merger enquiries, as well as share and cash offers for the company and the portfolio.
The board said that it declined the merger proposals due to a number of reasons including scale, increased exposure to weaker property market sub-sectors, reduction in dividend yield and persistent material discounts or discount volatility.
William Hill, chairman, commented: “The board was very pleased with the interest shown in the company, with proposals being received from a number of potential counterparties. Having considered multiple options, and after detailed analysis, the board determined a sale of the property portfolio to Realty Income was the best means of maximising shareholder value. The board unanimously considers the disposal to be in the best interests of the company and its shareholders as a whole and recommends that shareholders vote in favour of the resolution at the General Meeting.”
The sale will be put to shareholders at a general meeting on 26 September.
EPIC: Realty Income to buy Ediston Property’s portfolio for £196.8m