Calan's reaction expected to be cordial

Andrew Evans

ING Property Trust launched its expected $172 million takeover offer for medical landlord Calan Healthcare Properties Trust yesterday, saying it expected a cordial reaction from its target.

Andrew Evans, managing director of ING Property Trust Management, said the takeover had been launched after discussions with Calan's board which were "amicable and constructive".

Calan unitholders are being offered a mixture of cash and ING units in exchange for their investment in the $200 million trust that owns medical centres here and in Australia.

For every Calan unit, investors are being offered 63c and half an ING unit, equating to an offer price of $1.25. The deal is open for eight weeks, but ING can extend it until it gets 90 per cent of Calan's shares.

Calan chairman Bruce Davidson said yesterday he had yet to examine the terms of the offer but the board was seeking tenders for an independent appraisal report and would gather to discuss the bid. Last week, ING said it wanted to increase its holding in Calan to 20 per cent and then possibly make the takeover, a move that Davidson said was evidence of two years' hard work to improve the property investor's future.

Announcing the deal from the offices of adviser First NZ Capital, Evans said regulatory approval had been forthcoming from Australia and the Overseas Investment Office.

If ING succeeds, it will transform itself from an $822 million trust owning 101 properties into a $1.02 billion entity owning 114 properties, which are 99 per cent occupied.

Evans said ING was already the second-largest property vehicle on NZX by market capitalisation, behind Kiwi Income Property Trust.

Yesterday, ING had 14.04 per cent of Calan and Evans said if the takeover succeeded Calan would disappear from the NZX just as Urbus Properties had when ING finished that takeover last year.

Asked about the diminishing number of listed property vehicles, he said the global trend was for larger-scale investors to own more properties and New Zealand was following that.

"The number of entities will continue to be reduced and opportunities will grow."