BectonProperty Group will acquire the property portfolio of collapsed funds manager and property investment firm Fincorp, after its offer was accepted by administrators KordaMentha.
Becton will acquire nine of the 10 Fincorp properties and invest up to $170 million to acquire a 10-year development pipeline, valued at more than $470 million.
The portfolio includes residential, retirement and commercial development sites and assets.
It includes the high profile Mernda town centre development site, 18 kilometres north of Melbourne.
The Sydney-based Fincorp went into administration in March owing its investors $201 million and its bank lenders a further $95 million.
The investment firm has more than 8,000 investors, whose average age is around 60.
As part of Becton deal, Fincorp investors will have the right to a cash out price of approximately 50 cents for each $1.00 originally invested in Fincorp.
They will also have the right to reinvest those proceeds in Becton's Office Fund at an effective price of approximately 55 cents for each $1.00.
The fund is a passive fund holding completed office properties.
In March, the administrators told aggrieved investors they could only expect to claw back 30 cents in the dollar.
Becton chief executive Hamish Macdonald said he hoped Fincorp investors would remain with the managed office fund.
"We believe that our offer provides significantly more value to Fincorp investors than would have been otherwise available from a straight liquidation,'' Mr Macdonald said.
"In this case, we were able to offer a significant 10 per cent premium to Fincorp first ranking/secured noteholders and have also provided a three-year capital guarantee if they choose to reinvest in the Becton Office Fund.''
The Fincorp portfolio includes two retirement village sites under development with a total of 379 dwellings in Hervey Bay and Mackay, Queensland.
As well, in Victoria, the portfolio holds a shopping centre site, the mixed-use site in Mernda and a completed bulky-goods property in Warrnambool.
Mr Macdonald said the acquisition will be earnings accretive for Becton from year one.
"The earnings accretion will be generated by the incremental increase in recurring earnings,'' he said.
"The development profits from the acquisition will strongly support our stated objective of producing $25 million of earnings before interest and tax per annum from our development and construction business.''
AAP
