UOL and CapitaLand Singapore have agreed to acquire the 255-unit Thomson View Condominium for $810 million.
UOL’s indirect subsidiary, United Venture Development (UVD) and CL Onyx, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of CapitaLand Singapore (CapitaLand Development or CLD), entered into a put and call option agreement for the en-bloc purchase of the condo on Oct 26. UVD is 80:20 held by UOL’s wholly-owned subsidiary, UOL Venture Investments and SingLand Residential Development, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Singapore Land Group U06 Limited, respectively.
Thomson View, which is located at 1-17E Bright Hill Drive, has a land area of 540,314 sq ft with a leasehold of 99 years starting from April 7, 1975. The condo was completed in 1987.
It is licensed for residential development and has a gross plot ratio of 2.1. The condo has 200 units in a 29-storey block and 54 townhouses. It also has one shop unit.
UVD and CLD will undertake the acquisition on a 50:50 basis.
UOL will pay $4.6 billion for the acquisition based on its interests held through UOL Venture Investments and Singapore Land Group.
See also: GuocoLand-led JV puts in winning bid of $349.9 million for Faber Walk site
In February this year, Thomson View relaunched for en-bloc sale at a lower reserve price of $918 million instead of $950 million before.
In July, the condo was relaunched at the same price of $918 million, although this was lowered to $808 million in another en-bloc attempt in October.
“The Thomson View site is an elevated, sprawling five-hectare site that enjoys spectacular unblocked views. This site has very strong locational attributes, with Upper Thomson MRT station at its doorstep, popular schools such as Ai Tong School within a one kilometre-radius, nearby amenities including Thomson Plaza, as well as close proximity to parks and nature reserves,” say UOL’s group chief executive, Liam Wee Sin and CapitaLand Development (Singapore) CEO Tan Yew Chin in a joint statement.
See also: UOL-CapitaLand JV exercises call option to purchase Thomson View en bloc for $810 mil
“If 80% consent is secured, this acquisition adds another prime land parcel into our portfolio of joint venture (JV) sites with its strategic location and exceptional attributes,” they add. “We will leverage our combined expertise to transform the site into a 1,240-unit condominium, capitalising on the limited supply in the vicinity.”
UOL's shares closed at $5.39 while CapitaLand Investment's shares closed at $2.87 on Oct 25.
