They say they are committed to uphold the trust of their members and unit holders in contemplating acquiring ownership in Phase 2 of the London project.
PETALING JAYA: The Employees Provident Fund (EPF) and Permodalan Nasional Berhad (PNB) today said their decision to sign a heads of terms (letter of intent) on the purchase of commercial assets in the second phase of the Battersea Station development project was purely an investment consideration.
They said the potential “reorganisation of ownership” of the project in London at an estimated £1.608 billion (RM8.76 billion) was being explored without any government intervention.
“EPF and PNB are steadfast and committed to uphold the trust of the two institutions’ members and unit holders respectively, as well as the Malaysian public, and any inferences that investment decisions are made for any other reason than for the benefit of the people are completely false and malicious,” they said in a joint statement.
The statement was in response to media reports that the owners of the Battersea Power Station, a huge industrial building currently being turned into homes, offices and shops by a Malaysian consortium led by SP Setia are in talks to sell it.
It said the heads of terms (HoT) was to initiate preliminary negotiations to purchase the assets in Phase 2 of the development.
“The HoT is a non-binding agreement and its terms will be subject to further due diligence and negotiations,” it said.
It added that EPF was part of the consortium consisting of SP Setia and Sime Darby Property in the greater Battersea Power Station development which began in 2012, with the entire project spanning seven phases.
“The EPF directly owns 20% of the Battersea Power Station development and the reorganisation exercise will not affect EPF’s shareholdings in the existing overall development,” it said.
PNB, on the other hand, held majority stakes in SP Setia and Sime Darby Property which jointly own 80% equity in the development, it added.
The statement said the first phase consisted largely of residential units, and was completed with 100% take-up rate, while the residential component of Phase 2 was almost fully taken up.
The initial capital invested into the project by the consortium had also been reinvested into developing subsequent phases, it added.
EPF and PNB were contemplating to acquire ownership in Phase 2 – known as The Power Station building – which was the anchor project consisting mainly of retail and office spaces, the statement said.
“The EPF and PNB view this as a strategic opportunity to secure ownership of a unique and iconic real estate asset in a global city, which will be able to deliver a sustainable income stream into the future to meet their respective income needs,” it said.
It said Phase 2 was expected to be completed by late 2020 and has also been pre-let to anchor tenants such as technology giant Apple for a 500,000 sq ft tenancy.
“This bodes well for potential investors, as it is seen as a precursor to an exciting future for the Battersea Power Station development,” the statement said.
“The purchase price, which is still subject to further due diligence, has been structured based on a completed and tenanted basis, to provide attractive long term yield for the investors,” it added.
PNB, EPF in talks to buy London’s Battersea for RM8.8 billion
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