ING Real Estate Investment Management ('REIM') announced yesterday (March 17, 2011) that unit holders have approved the proposal by Goodman Industrial Funds Management Limited as trustee of the Goodman Trust Australia ('GTA') to acquire all of the units in the ING Industrial Fund (ASX: IIF) via a trust scheme.
This transaction is part of ING's previously stated intention of undertaking a phased withdrawal from the Australian real estate investment management business in a timely and controlled manner.
At a scheme meeting held in Sydney earlier today, unit holders approved the transaction, with over 93% of the votes cast in favor of all resolutions. The transaction is subject to Judicial Advice by the Supreme Court of New South Wales, which will be sought on March 18, 2011, and other customary closing conditions.
Subject to the remaining conditions being met, the transaction is scheduled to close on March 29, 2011 after which IIF will effectively transition to an unlisted, wholesale investment vehicle and form part of the Goodman funds management platform.
Following the completion of the transaction, unit holders will receive cash consideration of 54.6 cents less any distributions unit holders become entitled to from December 24, 2010 until the implementation of the proposal. The December quarter 2010 distribution of 0.8025 cents per Unit was paid on February 28, 2011. As a result of the unit holder approval of the Proposal, and post successful implementation, unit holders are not entitled to any additional distributions. Unit holders will therefore receive 53.7975 cents per Unit if the Proposal proceeds.
In February 2011, ING announced that it had finalized the strategic review of its Australian REIM platform and its five ASX-listed real estate funds and implementation had commenced. ING, together with the independent board of ING Management Limited ('IML') as the responsible entity for the five Funds, have evaluated various options for each Fund with a focus on unlocking the best value for unitholders.
In relation to the other four Funds; ING Entertainment Fund (ASX: IEF), ING Office Fund (ASX: IOF), ING Healthcare Fund (ASX: IHF) and ING Community Living Fund (ASX: ILF) significant progress has been made evaluating the alternatives to determine the future ownership structure for these funds and work is currently being completed including active discussions with a number of external parties.
Source: ING Real Estate Investment Management
