AUSTRALIA | Dexus has announced a joint venture with Boral Limited (“Boral”) to develop a major logistics precinct in Melbourne’s western corridor.
The agreement will see Dexus and Boral transform 630 hectares of Boral-owned land at Ravenhall into what is expected to be the largest institutionally held logistics precinct in Australasia, subject to rezoning and business plan approvals. The site is located 20 kilometres from Melbourne’s CBD.
Dexus Group CEO and Managing Director Ross Du Vernet said the partnership reflected the strength of our platform and relationship with Boral to deliver one of the most significant logistics precincts in Australia. Opportunities of this scale are rare, with the potential to secure a generation of industrial growth in one of Australia's most important logistics corridors.
"The joint venture structure aligns with our strategy to build a diversified and capital-efficient platform," he said.
"The phased development approach will enable us to progressively bring third-party capital into each stage to deliver returns for our securityholders while creating significant investment opportunities for our fund clients. This is the kind of opportunity our integrated platform is built to originate and execute."
The joint venture is structured for capital efficiency, with Dexus and future third-party capital partners holding a combined 50 percent interest and Boral holding the remaining 50 percent.
Dexus expects to retain a minimum 10 percent look-through principal interest in each superlot, with the balance funded by third-party capital partners. It is anticipated that each superlot will be leveraged. Dexus is responsible for securing rezoning with significant preparatory work already underway.
During the pre-development phase, the partnership is expected to have limited funding obligations and a minimal impact on Dexus's AFFO. Dexus will update the market once rezoning is secured.
The agreement and commencement of each superlot stage are subject to agreed milestones, with Boral contributing land into the project post-rezoning on a staged basis at market value.
Dexus will act as trustee, development manager, property manager, and investment manager for the project, with management fees commencing upon completion of its investment in each superlot unit trust.
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