It’s back to the drawing board for office buildings owner Australian Unity Office Property Fund, after talks with suitor Aliro Group about a $403 million buyout collapsed.
Sources said Aliro and Australian Unity Office Fund and its biggest investor, Hume Partners, had failed to agree a cut-priced deal after an extended period of exclusive due diligence.Aliro, an Australian investment manager with $1.6 billion in funds under management, secured due diligence with aWhile Aliro had the support of AOF’s biggest securityholder Hume Partners going into due diligence, Aliro tried to re-price the deal lower and lost Hume’s backing, sources said.
Its options included selling the vehicle, divesting some or all of the assets, or trying to refurbish its sites and continue to own them. Highbury Partnership and KingAliro stumped up its $2.45 a security proposal in May, and spent the past few weeks negotiating with Hume about a revised proposal. AOF securities last traded at $2.21. The listed fund has nine properties, including office buildings in western Sydney, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne and Canberra, and was its portfolio was valued at $606 million at the end of December.