A growing list of real estate groups is emerging to take a look at AMP Capital’s real estate funds, with APN Property Group and ARA Asset Management being two companies that are prepared to run the ruler over the operations.
It comes after Dexus Property Group put forward a proposal to AMP Capital to merge its Dexus Wholesale Property Fund with the AMP Capital Diversified Property Fund in the past week.
AMP is assessing the offer.
But Charter Hall is also staying close to the situation.
The understanding is that at this stage, Charter Hall’s focus is on AMP’s superannuation fund clients rather than bidding for AMP Capital, although this may change further down the track.
Some predict that if Charter Hall cannot secure the AMP investors’ money, it will ultimately bid for parts or all of the infrastructure and real estate manager.
Meanwhile, APN Property Group, which has a $175m market value, is also attracted to AMP Capital’s real estate, given that like AMP, it manages both real estate funds, investing in sectors such as retail and industrial, and real estate equities funds, collectively worth $2.7bn.
Should APN Property Group make advances at the AMP portfolio, it will be with backing from major institutional investors.
ARA Asset Management counts private equity firm Warburg Pincus as its largest shareholder. The understanding is that AMP’s real estate assets will not be on its to-do list until it has resolved its proportional takeover of Cromwell Property Group.
However, that is understood to be only weeks away, and once that is concluded, the Singapore group will run the ruler over the operations.
Other groups that will no doubt be eyeing AMP’s real estate holdings will include the GPT Group, Lendlease and Stockland.
However, of those three, GPT is considered the best placed.
This is because Lendlease is wrestling with challenges relating to construction projects and its shopping centre funds and Stockland does not have the same relationships with AMP’s institutional investors within its retail funds as groups such as GPT, Charter Hall and Dexus.
Centuria could also be a candidate.
AMP Capital has $192bn of funds under management and some estimate it could be worth between $2bn and $3bn.
Among the real estate owned by AMP Capital are prized buildings such as Sydney’s Quay Quarter office and retail complex at Circular Quay and the shopping malls Macquarie Centre in Sydney’s north and Pacific Fair on the Gold Coast.
AMP this month told investors it was reviewing the group’s assets and businesses to “assess all options” for its strategy.
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