US Giant Makes $374m Offer for AVJennings

US real estate giant Proprium Capital Partners has one of Australia’s best-known property development and construction companies in its sights as it looks to expand its pipeline down under.

The multinational has made a $374-million all-cash buyout offer for the ASX-listed AVJennings, which would become part of Avid Property under the deal.

The deal proposes 67ȼ a share—a 108 per cent premium to the three-month volume-weighted average price of 32.21 cents.

Proprium added Avid to its portfolio in 2016, sparking its expansions into the Australian market.

In May of this year the Stamford, Connecticut-headquartered Proprium made its first move into the land lease sub-market, paying $284.5 million for eight assets from the Living Gems portfolio and the development of six new sites in its own masterplanned communities.

AVJennings, established in Melbourne in 1932, has indicated it would allow Avid to conduct due diligence before it finalised the offer.

The company, whose chief executive is former Wallaby Phil Kearns, said its directors believed the deal “would provide ... shareholders with an opportunity to realise their investment in AVJennings at a price significantly above its historical trading levels with certain value through all-cash consideration”.

House and land package developer Avid holds a portfolio in excess of 6300 blocks and a $5-billion revenue pipeline.

Proprium has about $4 billion worth of assets under management globally—25 per cent of it in Australia, and was founded 14 years ago.

Anton Capital co-founders Anthony Kingsley and Tony Martin head the Australian arm.

The deal, which will be under due diligence until the end of January, requires approval from Australian and New Zealand officials.