DTC to divest Maldives Property to subsidiary
Dusit Thani Plc (DTC) , one of Thailand’s leading hotel and property development companies, plans to divest Dusit Thani Maldives to its subsidiary, Dusit Thani Freehold and Leasehold Real Estate Investment Trust (DREIT), in a strategic move designed to enhance DREIT’s appeal to investors.
Meanwhile, allowing DTC to recognise gain from sales, continue to obtain revenue from the property, and receive dividends from DREIT.
The company’s group chief executive Suphajee Suthumpun said yesterday that in line with its vision for sustainable and profitable growth, the company is continuously seeking ways to improve the efficiency of our asset portfolio to enhance revenue creation, generate returns, and source funds to aid in our business expansion.
Recently DTC’s Board of Directors approved a resolution to dispose rights and leasehold rights in Dusit Thani Maldives worth not less than Bt2.304 billion, subject to shareholders’ approval.
The sale of Dusit Thani Maldives to DREIT would bring numerous benefits for DTC and DREIT. DTC could recognise gain from the sale, continue to obtain revenue from the property under the lease agreement and hotel management agreement, and also enjoy consistent return from investment in DREIT.
Meanwhile, the acquisition of Dusit Thani Maldives would enable DREIT to generate attractive return to unitholders. Furthermore, the increase in fund size would improve the unit trading liquidity, making it more appealing to investors, she said.
With the acquisition of Dusit Thani Maldives, DREIT plans to issue and offer for sale approximately 365,000,000 new trust units as a part of the source of funds. DTC’s Board of Directors also approved a resolution to subscribe for the newly-issued investment units of DREIT in accordance with the rights offering. This would allow DTC to maintain its investment proportion and receive the dividend from DREIT to use for working capital and further investment.
