Heriot Reit, which has been in the process of acquiring control of Safari Investments through the past year, said yesterday it had acquired a further 385 237 Safari shares at R5.65 each, bringing its shareholding to 57%.
Heriot said in a JSE notice yesterday it and its associates, Reya Gola Investments and Heriot Investments, had held 56.8% of the total Safari shares in issue prior to the latest purchase.
The purchase was executed by way of an on-market block trade on the JSE.
It is not a hostile takeover. The parties had sought Competition Approval for a merger early last year already.
Compared with many South African REITS, Safari appears to be trading well after declaring an unchanged dividend of 32 cents for the year to March 31 on a 100 percent distribution payout, following a 7% rise in property revenue to R392.56 million.
Its portfolio value increased to R3.75 billion from R3.54bn a year before. Its market capitalisation at the R5.75 a share it traded at yesterday was R1.48bn, just over half the value of the properties.
Safari has a portfolio of retail, office and residential properties, with the majority being retail properties in and around Pretoria. Key assets include Thornhill Shopping Centre, Mnandi Shopping Centre, Soweto Day Hospital and Attlyn Shopping Centre.
Heriot said the acquisition was in line with it's strategy to increase its holding in Safari, as Heriot considers Safari's property portfolio to be complementary to its own portfolio.
Heriot said an increased shareholding would allow it to expand its real estate investments.
Heriot has a portfolio of 40 properties across all major sectors in South Africa that was valued at R5.29bn at the end of the six months to December 31, 2022.
For the six month period, it grew distributable earnings of R132,9m, or 52,04 cents per share, by 3,2% ahead of the six month period a year before.
Its net property operating income grew by 11,1%. Heriot’s share price was unchanged at R11.50 yesterday morning on the JSE.
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