A consortium of investors led by Perennial Real Estate Holdings announced on May 6 that they are selling a 50% stake in AXA Tower for and transferring 50% of the outstanding loan, to Alibaba Singapore, a subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holdings. The deal is based on a property purchase price of $1.68 billion for AXA Tower. JLL was the advisor to Alibaba Singapore on the deal, which is expected to be completed by end June 2020. The Perennial-led consortium has in turn, transferred the remaining 50% equity stake in AXA Tower and the remaining 50% outstanding loan to a new entity, PRE13. Other investors in the Perennial-led consortium include HPRY, a wholly-owned investment company of Kuok Khoon Hong, group chairman and CEO of Wilmar intl, who is one of the largest sponsors of Perennial as well as its chairman. Perennial’s existing stake in AXA Tower is 31.2% and HPRY holds a 10.1% stake, bringing Kuok’s deemed interest in AXA Tower to 41.3%. Another investor in the Perennial-led consortium is SPH, whose wholly-owned subsidiary PE One Pet Ltd had acquired a 5.29% stake in AXA Tower for $19.3 million back in 2015.... Continue Reading