AME REIT’s RM100.8 mil sponsor asset deal turns unconditional

PETALING JAYA (June 19): AME Real Estate Investment Trust, the acquisition side, has confirmed that the sale and purchase agreement (SPA) for i‑Park SAC 34 has become unconditional after all conditions precedent were fulfilled yesterday.

It said in a Bursa filing that this clears the way for AME REIT’s trustee, RHB Trustees Bhd, as trustee of AME REIT, to complete the RM100.8 million acquisition of three industrial properties from subsidiaries of its sponsor, AME Elite Consortium Bhd, under a related‑party transaction first announced in March 2025.

The three assets are high‑spec industrial factories within AME’s Johor parks, with i‑Park SAC 34 being the final asset in a seven‑property RM220.3 million pipeline feeding into AME REIT from the Johor‑Singapore Special Economic Zone corridor.

Management has indicated that once i‑Park SAC 34 is completed, the portfolio will comprise 43 properties, with a total asset value of about RM1.02 billion, 100% occupancy and a financing ratio of 31.4% — still comfortably below the 50% regulatory gearing cap and leaving roughly RM392 million of financing headroom.

As at March 31, 2026, before the completion of i‑Park SAC 34, AME REIT’s audited figures show investment properties of RM956.1 million, total asset value of RM1,015.1 million and a financing ratio of 28.81%, with 40 industrial properties and three industrial‑related assets under management at a 100% occupancy rate.

The new assets are fully let to multinational tenants on long leases and are described as yield‑accretive, having already helped lift FY2026 rental income by 22.4% to RM62.3 million and net property income by 21.5% to RM56.4 million.

AME REIT distributed 99.9% of its FY2026 distributable income, paying 8.34 sen per unit and delivering a 5.25% yield based on the market price as at March 31, while net asset value per unit rose to RM1.2612 before income distribution.

On the corresponding disposal, AME Elite Consortium Bhd has disclosed that its subsidiaries’ disposals of the same three industrial properties to RHB Trustees Bhd, as trustee of AME REIT, for RM100.8 million have now moved into the unconditional phase.

This completes a further phase of AME Elite’s “develop, stabilise, recycle” model, in which completed, fully let factories in its i‑Park and i‑TechValley estates are sold down into AME REIT while AME Elite recycles capital into new industrial developments.

The disposals are a related‑party transaction because AME Elite is the sponsor of AME REIT and both sides share a common ecosystem, but the pricing and terms were subject to independent valuation and approvals by AME Elite shareholders and AME REIT unitholders in 2025.

For AME Elite, the RM100.8 million cash proceeds come on top of an earlier RM119.5 million tranche, providing additional liquidity to fund further phases in Senai Airport City, Indahpura and i‑TechValley, where demand from electronics, medical devices and logistics tenants remains strong.

Separately, AME REIT has released its Annual Report and Corporate Governance Report for the financial year ended March 31, 2026, filed with Bursa Malaysia yesterday.

The audited statements show FY2026 revenue of RM62.3 million, net property income of RM56.4 million, distributable income of RM44.3 million, total asset value of RM1.02 billion and net asset value of RM669.8 million, alongside a financing ratio of 28.81% as at March 31.

Operationally, AME REIT reports maintaining 100% occupancy and managing 40 industrial properties and three industrial‑related assets as at year-end, with the seven‑asset acquisition programme from its sponsor underpinning growth in earnings, scale and income visibility.

The sustainability and governance sections highlight 100% local procurement spend, zero confirmed corruption cases, zero work‑related fatalities and continued climate‑risk and ESG disclosures aligned with Bursa Malaysia requirements and IFRS sustainability standards.

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