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Property investors Abacus raise $250M to fund business upgrade

ASX 200
ASX:ABP
24 July 2019 23:36 (AEST)

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Real estate investment group Abacus raised $250 million through a placement to assist with improving the company’s business model.

Abacus’ CEO and Managing Director Steven Sewell said the company “is well advanced on its strategy to transition to a more annuity style, strong assets backed business model”.

“The placement enables us the accelerate this transition and positions Abacus for future growth beyond the near-term identified opportunities, with low gearing and over $900 million of acquisition capacity,” Steven added.

63.3 million new shares were issues at $3.95 per share.

The company will attempt to raise a further $25 million through a share purchase plan. Eligible shareholders will be offered securities at the same price as previous, $3.95 per share.

Abacus deals with a range of portfolios spanning commercial and self-storage properties. In 2018 the company’s combined portfolios were valued at $2.1 billion.

The company’s office space portfolio is worth $879 million, comprising of 20 assets. The properties are located in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane CBDs and throughout Adelaide and Canberra.

Its self-storage portfolio is worth $666 million across 62 assets. The company has a partnership with Storage King – Australia’s largest self-storage facilitator – and operates across the nation as well as New Zealand.

Abacus’ retail portfolio is worth $425 million across five assets in New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria. Significant properties include the Oasis Shopping Centre on the Gold Coast and Ashfield Mall.

The ASX 200 lister’s share price is down 2.81 per cent today, currently sitting at $4.15 per share.

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