Goodman eyeing off Moorebank Logistics Park
The $26 billion Australian real estate giant Goodman Group is believed to be vying for Sydney’s Moorebank Logistics Park, on offer by the listed Qube Holdings.
It comes after DataRoom revealed this week that real estate bankers at UBS have started testing interest in the property market about a sale or spin-off of Moorebank.
Goodman Group declined to comment. However sources close to the company say the real estate investor remains a keen suitor.
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The industrial property powerhouse has made a name for itself in the past decade after clawing its way out of near collapse amid the global financial crisis to amass a logistics real estate empire that involves $50 billion worth of real estate in Australia, New Zealand, China, Europe, Britain, North America and Brazil.
It is the largest industrial property group listed on the Australian Securities Exchange and one of the top listed specialists globally.
In August, when it delivered an 11.4% lift in operating profit in the 2019 financial year to $942 million, it also flagged that it will grow globally on the back of the e-commerce boom driving the warehouse sector.
However while investors have been impressed by its performance, shares have fallen since its results were released, as some had been hoping for more.
While some say a listed spin-off could also be considered for Moorebank, sources close to the company have played down the likelihood of that plan.
Others in the market say a private sale is the most likely outcome, although a capital partner could be sought, while debt funding may also be an option.
The asset would be a good fit for Goodman as it concentrates on super-sized projects, many of which involve robotics and locking in tenants for longer leases, as they see the major complexes as critical to remaining competitive.
Goodman would add the project to its $4.1 billion development workbook, which is expected to reach around $5 billion next year.
The move comes as property trusts are in soaring demand amid a low interest rate environment.
The yet-to-be-completed Moorebank Intermodal facility is valued at up to $2 billion and is the largest in the country, covering 243ha.
Moorebank Logistics Park is being developed on a precinct comprising land owned by the Commonwealth and adjacent to land owned by Qube.
The precinct has the capacity to transport up to 1.05 million 20-foot equivalent units a year of import–export freight and another half million 20-foot equivalent units of interstate freight a year.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
