Segro backs down from Tritax bidding war amid asset buying spree

Segro has failed to up its offer for a takeover of Tritax Eurobox despite being outbid by Brookfield, leaving the latter victorious in the bidding war.

Despite failing to successfully take over the real estate investment trust, Segro said today that it had bought about a third of Tritax Eurobox’s assets for 470m euros (£389m).

Tritax’s stock price dropped by two per cent this morning as a result of the news. The trust’s stock price still sits at an 11 per cent discount to the value of its underlying assets.

Segro originally made a bid for Tritax in September, offering £552m for the FTSE-250 listed trust, or £1.1bn when accounting for Tritax’s net debt, which the board recommended.

However,Canadian investment manager Brookfield swooped in last month with an offer that was six per cent higher than Segro’s, ultimately winning over the approval of Tritax’s board.

“Bringing Tritax under private ownership will both better position it for further investment into existing assets, coupled with the benefits that accrue from being part of a scaled, better capitalised and actively growing real estate platform,” said Brookfield at the time.

While it seemed likely Segro would not up their offer, today’s announcement confirms it will let Brookfield take the win, but has agreed to split off a significant chunk of the trust’s assets for its own.

The six sites, scattered across Germany and the Netherlands, account for 31 per cent of Tritax Eurobox’s portfolio value.

Tritax Eurobox specialises in managing and investing in logistics-oriented real estate, known as ‘big box’ properties, which have become especially popular investments since the pandemic.

Once the takeover deal is complete, Brookfield said it will consider other potential property sales for its new assets, and said it was considering using the money to reduce liabilities and investment in real estate assets.