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Nexus REIT (TSXV:NXR.UN) adds to industrial portfolio

Real Estate
TSXV:NXR.UN
08 January 2021 14:13 (EDT)

Nexus Real Estate Investment Trust (NXR.UN) has agreed to acquire several industrial properties in Ontario and Alberta.

The company entered conditional agreements to purchase six industrial assets in London, Ontario, and two industrial buildings in Edmonton, Alberta. In addition, Nexus REIT has also completed a previously announced acquisition in Ajax, Ontario.

The six properties in London are well-tenanted, well-maintained, and contain approximately 1,191,184 square feet of gross leasable area. The company will pay an aggregate purchase price of C$103.5 million to acquire the assets. 

Approximately $65,600,150 of the consideration will be satisfied through the issuance of Class B LP Units of a subsidiary limited partnership with the REIT, at $1.91 per unit. Nexus REIT expects that it will assume existing debt and place new financing on some of the properties to fund the remainder of the purchase price.

The company expects the transaction for the London properties to close around April 1, 2021.

One of the buildings in Edmonton, Alberta, is single-tenanted, while the other is multi-tenanted. The buildings, which have a combined gross leasable area of 108,156 square feet, are fully leased to tenants that are not in the oil and gas industry.

The company will pay an aggregate $14 million to acquire the buildings. Half of the purchase price will be satisfied by issuing Class B LP Units of a subsidiary limited partnership with the REIT, at $2.05 per unit.

Nexus REIT expects the transaction for the Edmonton properties to close around March 1, 2021. 

The company’s CEO, Kelly Hanczyk, was excited to announce the acquisitions and prospects for the company’s near-term growth. 

“We’ve been in discussions with the vendors of the London portfolio and building a relationship with them for several years now, culminating in this sizeable off-market deal,” he said. 

“We are also quite pleased to have completed the acquisition of our 50 per cent interest in a well-tenanted Ajax, Ontario industrial property, which we now co-own with the vendor, who we’ve also developed an excellent relationship with over the years,” he added.

Kelly went on to say that the REIT has a strong pipeline of potential acquisitions, and expects 2021 to be a solid year of growth for the company. In particular, the company plans to continue working towards its goal of graduating to the Toronto Stock Exchange in due course.

Nexus Real Estate Investment Trust is up 1.03 per cent and trading for $1.97 per share, as of 11:26am EST.

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