Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Parkway Reit To Relook Record $1.25b Novena Bid

Source : TODAY, Wednesday, 20 February 2008

Parkway Life Reit, which derives its revenue from the rental of healthcare space, will make its own independent assessment whether to acquire a new hospital whose site its parent company Parkway Holdings made a record bid for.

The $1.25 billion bid by Parkway Holdings - about five times that of rival Raffles Medical - for the Novena site on which the hospital will be built has raised concerns among investors that it is paying too much for the land.

“We will look at it no different from any third-party acquisitions,” said Mr Yong Yean Chau, chief financial officer of Parkway Trust Management, which manages the Reit.

Any acquisition will have to be yield-accretive, added Parkway Life Reit chief executive Justine Wingrove.

Parkway Life Reit is looking to boost its portfolio that currently comprises of Mount Elizabeth Hospital, Gleneagles Hospital, East Shore Hospital and associated medical facilities.

The Reit is interested in acquiring healthcare assets such as hospitals, medical offices, pharmaceutical warehouses and nursing homes in Singapore and the region, said Ms Wingrove.

Parkway Life Reit announced yesterday a distributable income of $13.64 million for period of Aug 23 to Dec 31, which translated to a dividend of 2.27 cents per unit. Its gross revenue for the period was $16.9 million.

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