Grosvenor Estate Holdings, chaired by one of Britain's wealthiest landlords, the Duke of Westminster, has made its most significant foray into Asia's property market by taking a 15 per cent stake in medium-sized developer Asia Standard International.
The deal marked the first big investment by the UK company in Hong Kong's real-estate sector since 1996 and the start of its planned US$200 million buying spree in the Asian region.
Ayala International, a subsidiary of Ayala Corp of the Philippines, was taking a 1.6 per cent stake in Asia Standard. Grosvenor and Ayala together would invest about HK$408.11 million in return for 408.11 million new shares in Asia Standard.
At $1 a share, the deal represented a 60 per cent discount to the company's net asset value and a 12.3 per cent discount to last Friday's closing price of $1.14.
The investments reflected a revival of overseas interest in the Hong Kong property market and confidence in its prospects.
'Grosvenor has been active in Asia since 1994 but this subscription is our most significant investment in the region to date,' Grosvenor Estate's Asia headquarters managing director Nicholas Loup said.
