CapitaLand Ascendas REIT to acquire Seagate’s The Shugart in one-north for $218.2 mil

The community is served by the Bukit Batok MRT station located next to West Mall. The Myst Condo is a new launch condo project located in the heart of District 23. It offers excellent facilities and easy accesibility to public transportation. It is a must-look for those who wish to enjoy the convenience of the district.

CapitaLand Ascendas REIT (CLAR) will be deepening their footprint in one-north with the acquisition of Seagate Singapore’s integrated high-specification research and development (R&D) facility, The Shugart, for $218.24 million. The property, located at 26 Ayer Rajah Crescent, is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2023.

Including acquisition fees and other related fees, CLAR will be shelling out a total of $232.4 million. The Shugart, built around eight years ago, comprises a six-storey podium and a nine-storey tower, cleanroom and data centre space for Seagate Singapore’s operations, a sky garden, multi-purpose sports hall and a gymnasium for employees.

The acquisition of The Shugart aims to increase CLAR’s presence in one-north as they currently own five assets — Nexus @one-north, Galaxis, Grab Headquarters, Neuros & Immunos and Nucleos — with an AUM of $1.7 billion and NLA of 2 million sq ft. Upon its completion, the footprint in one-north will increase by 13%, giving an AUM of $1.9 billion and 2.5 million sq ft of total NLA.

CLAR’s overall pro forma proportion of business space and life sciences properties in their portfolio will also increase to $ 8.1 billion of total investment properties of $16.7 billion. This is in accordance with their strategy to take into account evolving market requirements from structural trends and consumption patterns such as digitalisation and e-commerce.

Seagate Singapore will be entering into a 10-year leaseback of the property’s entire GFA with the option to renew for an additional 10 years upon completion of the acquisition. This will give CLAR a total of 231 investment properties — 98 properties in Singapore, 36 properties in Australia, 48 properties in the US, and 49 properties in the UK and Europe.

The acquisition of The Shugart will be beneficial for CLAR in the long run, allowing them to increase their presence in the already established one-north area and to better cater to the infocomm technology, media, science and engineering, biomedical and life sciences and emerging industries.