Starhill Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) has purchased three Marriott hotels in Australia for a combined price of A$415 million (RM1.315 billion).
The hotels - the Marriott Hotel Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne - were acquired by the REIT's wholly-owned units from Commonwealth Managed Investments Ltd, 30 Pitt Street Pty Ltd, 515 Queen Street Pty Ltd and Lonex Pty Ltd.
Operated by Marriott International Inc Group, all three are five-star AAA tourism-rated hotels that are located within the cities' CBD.
The biggest is the 33-storey Sydney Harbour Marriott Hotel, which sits on a 3,084 sq m site and offers 563 rooms. The 28-floor Brisbane Marriott Hotel measures 1,532 sq m and comprises 267 guest rooms, while the 16-storey Melbourne Marriott Hotel is built on a 1,636 sq m land and has 186 rooms.
Tan Sri Datuk Francis Yeoh Sock Ping, CEO of Pintar Projek Sdn Bhd, the company which manages Starhill REIT, said the purchase price will be fulfilled in cash through bank loans and cash balances of the REIT, upon obtaining approvals from pertinent regulatory bodies.
He noted that "the acquisition of this new portfolio of hospitality assets will, upon completion, enlarge the trust's portfolio to approximately RM3 billion from RM1.58 billion currently."
"Thereafter, more than half of Starhill REIT's property value will be constituted by its hotel assets in Australia and Japan, making this the largest portfolio of overseas property investments of any Malaysian REIT."
The hotels will generate "two income streams, firstly, stable fixed lease rentals arising from its existing property portfolio and, secondly, variable income from the three Marriott hotels, increasing the potential for distribution per unit growth and variations."
He said that this added income stream "will allow Starhill REIT to participate in the vibrant real estate market in Australia and explore further geographical diversification of the REIT's asset base."
