Lendlease REIT Upcoming Rights Issuance Becoming A Nightmare With No Takers- Subscribe Only On Last Day to See Market Price.

Please see Video here.

Boustead REIT IPO- 3 Reasons Retail Investors Need To Stay Far Far Away.

Hi Folks, for those who have already subscribed to the Boustead REIT or love Boustead, please do not flame me for this post. This post is based only on my personal view. Strangely, the management of Boustead decided to go ahead to list their REIT when Donald Trump is still fighting a war with Iran- this is no doubt the worst possible time to IPO. On whether one shall subscribe to this IPO, the crux of the issue is not with the expected dividend yield or extent of the aggregate leverage level; It is also not about the low occupancy rate of less than 90%. The paramount consideration needs to go back to a Boustead fiasco back in November 2023 where a low ball buyout offer was made by Boustead to privatise and delist its real estate and engineering subsidiary Boustead Projects from existing shareholders then. Hence, if one does not want to lose his or her own hard earn capital, one needs to stay away from this IPO. I will elaborate on the above crux factor as well as another 2 other reasons on why one needs to avoid this subscription.

1. “Management Beliefs” and How Shareholders Are Treated.

First and foremost, Boustead Singapore Limited today is no longer the MNC founded by Edward Boustead in 1828 during the Straits Settlement days. Mr Wong Fong Hui and his family acquired Boustead back in 1996. Mr Wong is instrumental in transforming Boustead into a major engineering and technology conglomerate and is a very good businessman. His family held around 45% shares of Boustead Singapore Limited.

Now, the most uncomfortable factor for me is that in the event that the REIT faced a financial crisis which is part and parcel of the ups and downs of our economy, can it survive without causing much grief to its Unitholders? There may also be pro-longed periods where the REIT may treat at substantial discount to its fair value. One does not want to be in a situation whereby the REIT is being forced to privatise at a huge discount to the IPO price of S$0.88 per unit with a low ball offer. 

I am not sure whether you folks recalled a REIT called Soilbuild REIT- please go google and read up on it.

Basically, many sharp and wealthy businessmen can acquire a business at a less than fair valuation to delist and then a few years later, launch another IPO after re-packaging the investment properties inside. It maybe better to stick with the Capitaland or Mapletree Group of REITs in order to sleep better at night.

The 2023 Boustead Project delisting in a way can arguably be a quick preview of what may come in future for Boustead REIT. The consultant for that delisting even issued an opinion to shareholders then  that the initial offer was “reasonable but not fair”. However, the good news is that the offer was subsequently revised upwards significantly after some commotion. Nevertheless, this gives retail investors like myself some basic understanding of how the management of Boustead does business.  

2. Boustead REIT Mostly Industrial Properties and Low Occupacy Rate Less than 90%.

Another reason to stay away from this IPO is the less than 90% occupancy rate and the high concentration of major tenants for this IPO. In the event that there is a major tenant loss, it will take time and more CAPEX to sub-divide the property into smaller units configuration.

3. US Iran War and High Oil Prices May Bring Back Inflation or Even Recession,

Oil prices are spiking and the inflation monster may rear its ugly head once again. I believe many of you folks who held REITs for the past few years remember the high interest rate environment and the devastating effect on the market price of REITs. Prices of REITs will most likely drop further over the next few months.

Parting Thoughts.

Personally, I will be avoiding the Boustead REIT at all cost not just for this IPO but also in future. I have a very bad feeling on the performance of Boustead REIT post IPO and that this will go down the path of Soilbuild REIT. 

Lendlease REIT Upcoming Rights Issuance Becoming A Disaster- A Victim of Donald Trump's War On Iran.

Lendlease Global Commercial REIT ("LREIT") recent rights issuance exercise to raise funds to purchase the remaining 30% stake of PLQ Mall seems to be on the verge of a disaster as the recent closing price is S$0.555 per unit as at the closing of 5 March 2026. This is just below the rights issuance price of S$0.558 per unit.

1. What happens if price remain below S$0.558 per unit during the commencement of the rights issuance on 10 March 2026?

Now this is a very good question. If the price of LREIT continue to decline below the right issuance pricing, then no sane retail or institutional investors will subscribe for it. Instead, to avoid dilution, most investors will just buy from the open market. Nonetheless, the good news is that the joint underwriters trio of DBS, UOB and OCBC will step in to mop up the unsubscribed units at S$0.558 per unit. The process works like this according to the Underwriting Agreement dated 25 February 2026, the process works as follows:

• Sponsor Commitment: The sponsor, Lendlease Corporation, has provided an irrevocable undertaking to subscribe to its full provisional allotment of units;

• Underwriter Obligation: For all other units (the "Underwritten Units"), the Joint Underwriters (DBS, OCBC, and UOB) must first procure third-party subscribers;

• Backstop: If they cannot find enough subscribers, the underwriters themselves must subscribe and pay for all remaining units at the issue price of S$0.558;

• Funding Assurance: This structure ensures the REIT raises the full S$196.6 million required for the PLQ Mall acquisition and debt reduction, regardless of retail or institutional investor demand.

2. Parting Thoughts

LREIT seems to have become another victim of Donald Trump's war on Iran. For retail investors, such a turn of event for LREIT is ominous. The joint underwriters will eventually need to dispose part of or all of their accumulated units which will lead to further downward selling pressure on its market price.  

Deal of the Century By Netflix- Free US$2.8 Billion Extra Income Into Its Pocket.

Initially, back in early December 2025, I thought that Netflix's inking of the acquisition of Warner Bros is done and dusted. Then subsequently, Paramount Skydance suddenly jumped in to offer an all cash tender offer at a higher US$110.9 billion. On February 26, 2026, the management of Warner Bros decided to go for the "superior" offer from Paramount Skydance and cancelled the deal with Netflix. As a result, Warner Bros paid Netflix US$2.8 billion for the cancellation. Netflix thus walked away from the acquisition deal and made US$2.8 billion instantly. This is super insane given that the losing bidder, Netflix, gets away with US$2.8 billion of cancellation fees paid on a back to back basis by its rival Paramount Skydance! 

Additionally, Paramount Skydance debt level of expected US$79 billion escalated to the roof after the win. It asserted that is had identified cost cutting synergy of US$6 billion. This seems to be cutting down on film making and TV serial resources with upcoming retrenchment exercises. Paramount Skydance also just announced a 4th quarter of widening net loss of <US$573Mil> for its 4th quarter ending 31 December 2025. 

Personally, I thought that Netflix senior management made a very wise decision not to up its offer and just walkaway. It can now sit at the side to watch the Paramount-Warner Bros integration saga unfurl and also observe the struggle by the winner with the enormous debt. There maybe opportunities for Netflix in a few years time to made a bid for some of the business that Paramount maybe forced to firesales if it is failed in its plan to turn profit.

United Hampshire US REIT- 12.1% Increase in Distribution in FY2025 and Over 8% Forward Dividend Yield For FY2026.

For long term loyal holders of United Hampshire US REIT ("UH REIT") since IPO and for investors who had accumulated additional units when its price hover around the US$0.40 per unit in June 2024 during the high financing cost period, UH REIT just announced the good news of an impressive 12.1% increase in its distribution for financial year ending 31 December 2025. Let us go through some of the financial analysis, normalised distribution yield and also the distribution notice:

Section 1: Revised Distribution Yield From Increase in Distribution.

For UH REIT, 2nd Half 2025 Net Property Income increased 2.3%. This growth was supported by the commencement of new leases, rental escalation from existing leases, contribution from the newly acquired Dover Marketplace and lower interest rates as well as borrowings.

It resulted in a 12.1% overall increase in distribution per unit relative to the 2nd half of 2024. At 2.30 cents per unit, this is an annualised distribution yield of US$0.046 per unit. As per the announcement date of 20 February 2026, the market traded price was US$0.560 per unit. This implied an annual distribution yield of 8.2% per annum. This is an extremely attractive distribution yield in the SREIT universe given its consistent more than 95% occupancy rate for grocery related retail business since IPO.

Section 2: Substantial Discount to Net Asset Value Per Unit of US$0.73 Per Unit.

As at 31 December 2025, the net asset value per unit of UH REIT stood at US$0.730 per unit. Based on its current market price during announcement date, its market price was US$0.560 per unit. This is a 30% upside at current market price.  

Section 3: Key Dates To Watch Out For Existing Unit-holders.

Unit-holders please take note of the following key dates. Firstly, Ex Dividend Date will be on 27 February 2026 (Friday) while distribution payment date will only be on 30 March 2026 (Monday).

Section 4: Parting Thoughts.

To give some additional background context, UH REIT listed on SGX on 12 March 2020. The IPO subscription price was US$0.80 per unit. On its first day trading date, UH REIT debuted at US$0.72 (S$1.02), which was 10% lower than its IPO price due to market volatility at that time. It is unfortunate that the debut was soured by the COVID crisis with financial results battered by the post COVID high inflationary environment that leads to escalating financing cost as well as 10% decline in strength of USD over this dark period. Nevertheless, the distribution from UH REIT  has recovered strongly over the past year. It fared the best in terms of SREIT with commercial properties in the US. While Manulife US REIT, Prime US REIT and Keppel Pacific Oak US REIT have suspended all or part of their dividend distributions, UH REIT continued to pay out distributions consistently.    

Ok, that's all for today folks! Bye for now!

Retail SREIT With 12.1% Increase in Distribution in FY2025 and Over 8% Forward Dividend Yield For FY2026.

Please refer to video: Retail SREIT With 12.1% Increase in Distribution in FY2025 and Over 8% Forward Dividend Yield For FY2026. 

Lendlease REIT Management Latest Rights Issue Finally Did Justice To Existing Unit-Holders- Full Acquisition of PLQ Mall.

The management of Lendlease REIT ("LREIT") announced this morning that it will acquire the remaining 30% of PLQ Mall and will launch a $196.6 mil rights issue priced at 55.8 cents each. Finally, the management listened after the previous private tranche placement in November 2025 whereby the same PLQ property acquisition leads to dilution of existing loyal unit-holders. I hope that the management continues to offer retail investors preferential rights first before tapping on new investors as a form of basic courtesy.

1. Subscribe or Not?

Personally, I will be taking up the issuance given the very attractive entry price of S$0.558 per unit relative to the market closing rate before the announcement of S$0.60 per unit. This will be a more than 6% distribution yield for the new units. 

The only uncertain risk here is the opening of the RTS which will grant Singaporeans more convenient access to Malaysian shopping malls and the extent of the adverse impact on Singapore retail scene. This is somewhat similar to Hong Kong retail which had went downhill for the past few years as shopper flocked to Shenzhen. But I am optimistic that the impact will be minimal on Singapore retail scene given that our local shopping malls have mostly pivoted to F&B outlets and education centres as tenants to complement retail grocery (NTUC Fairprice, Cold Storage etc). For example, parents will not send their kids over to Malaysia for tuition centres right? Another illustrative will be that, one will not want to expend too excessive time to go over Malaysia just to have McDonalds. 

2. Key Dates For Investors

Existing investors of LREIT, take note that the last date and time for acceptance is 18 March 2026 at 5.30pm and 9.30pm for Electronic Applications through ATM of participating bank.

Parting Thoughts

At the current low offered pricing of the new units at S$0.558 per unit, I think that the best option out there is to take it up. Interestingly, the previous private placement was done at S$0.602 per unit which is 7% more expensive. Most likely, I will also be subscribing for the excess. Also, guess, I no longer need to go to LREIT's 2026 AGM to pick a bone with their CEO and CFO on the unfair treatment of existing unit-holders which is very disrespectful and high handed in their previous fund raising exercise.