Dexus Property Group has pushed further in to the Sydney office market with transactions totalling more than A$1 billion ($755 million; €679 million).
The Australia-listed property group has acquired a 50 percent stake in the MLC Centre for A$722.6 million alongside it’s A$4.3 billion open-ended Dexus Wholesale Property Fund, both will own 25 percent of the tower. The firm is also buying a A$327.5 million office complex in the inner-city suburb of Pyrmont.
Dexus also said it is in exclusive due diligence on a core industrial property in Melbourne.
Dexus said in a stock exchange announcement that the transactions have increased its exposure to the Sydney office market and boosted its office portfolio Sydney weighting from 65 percent to 67 percent. Australia’s largest landlord has ownership or management of 20 Sydney CBD or CBD fringe assets valued at A$8.4 billion.
“These acquisitions continue our dominant positioning across Australia’s major cities and reinforce our belief that Sydney will continue to benefit from the global trend of urbanization and enhanced infrastructure links over the coming years,” said Dexus’s chief executive, Darren Steinberg.
“With these transactions, we’ve broadened our customer base and identified a number of future opportunities to leverage our skills to unlock additional value and accelerate growth,” he added.
Last year Dexus had tried to gain control of some of Sydney’s prominent office towers through a takeover of the A$2.5 billion Investa Office Fund (IOF). However, in April 2016 Investa shareholders voted against the proposed bid.
Dexus, which only invests in Australia, has a property portfolio valued at more than A$22 billion. The firm directly owns A$11 billion of office and industrial properties and manages a further A$11.7 billion of office, retail and industrial properties for third party investors.
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