Aberdeen Asset Management plc said it has agreed to sell Aberdeen Property Investors International Ltd (APII) and Aberdeen Property Investors Ltd (API) to Arlington Securities Ltd and Arlington Investment Management Ltd for £50m cash.
The APII Group comprises the Aberdeen Group´s UK and Continental European property investment management businesses. Aberdeen is retaining its Nordic property investment management business.
Aberdeen said it will use the net proceeds from the disposal, after making provisions for transaction costs and exceptional costs, principally to reduce its bank debt, to repay in full the LAHC Loan Notes and to provide additional headroom within its bank facilities, giving the continuing Aberdeen group 'substantially increased financial flexibility'.
The disposal will be dilutive to earnings per share before exceptionals in the current year to end-Sept 2004, the group added.
For the financial year ended Sept 30 2003, the APII Group contributed revenues totalling 18.9 mln stg of the group´s total revenues of 142.3 mln and earnings before interest and tax of 3.2 mln stg of the group´s 13.3 mln. The aggregated net assets attributable to the APII Group as at completion of the disposal will be approximately 7.3 mln.
Source: Freeman
