This blog post is in reply to a reader's question on Croesus Retail Trust: here.
Hi Capricon,
Not that I know of, no. Of course, I could have missed it. -.-"
I know the management is caught in a situation where they really want to seize acquisition opportunities because commercial property prices are rising fast in big cities in Japan.
However, the biggest advantage of being a business trust has been blocked by the management's own promise not to gear beyond 60%. After their recent two acquisitions, they don't have much left in terms of debt headroom.
I do not see how a higher unit price will help them to borrow more money since gearing is calculated based on the value of the properties in the Trust and not its market cap.
If they want to do another acquisition without having gearing cross beyond 60%, the way is to do equity fund raising either through rights or placement.
Actually, Jeremy Yong could consider something else. The Trust could issue perpetual bonds because they are treated as part of the equity structure. So, gearing would actually drop and the Trust would have the money to do more acquisitions. As long as the NPI yield is higher than the coupons to be paid on the bonds, unit holders will benefit. However, if the Trust does this, I hope the bonds are in JPY and not in S$.
Do you have Jeremy Yong's contact details? If you do, send him an email and tell him what AK suggested. Of course, I do not know if it is practicable or not. Just a crazy idea, perhaps. ;p
Related posts:
1. Croesus Retail Trust: Luz Omori and Liz Wave I.
2. Perpetual bonds: Good or bad?