By:Elliot Gulliver-Needham, Investment Reporter, City A.M., 21 March 2024:
Urban Logistics REIT has backed down from its bidding war over Abrdn Property Income trust after failing to make a formal offer for the real estate investment trust.
Less than an hour before the 5pm deadline yesterday set out by the UK takeover code, the trust announced that it would not be proceeding with an offer for the Abrdn trust.
Following the news, the Abrdn trust’s board reaffirmed its commitment this morning for the original bid from Custodian Property Income REIT.
Despite Urban Logistics backing down, leaving Custodian as the only bidder, fractures have continued to emerge over the potential deal.
For one, if the buyout offer from Custodian fails to pass among Abrdn trust shareholders, leaving it looking to sell the portfolio, Urban Logistics would certainly seem like a willing buyer, even if it didn’t make a formal bid.
Secondly, QuotedData property analyst Richard Williams argued yesterday that the Custodian merger no longer represented the best option for Abrdn trust shareholders.
He pointed to the sale of two Abrdn trust properties yesterday, which bagged the trust £16.5m at only 0.3 per cent less than what they had been valued in December.
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