Irish
Treasury Holdings-linked China Real Estate Opportunities seeks re-admission to London's AIM market; Plans to raise up to to £260m to fund Chinese projects
By Finfacts Team
Jun 25, 2007, 12:10

To help facilitate investment in China, in December 2005, Treasury Holdings set up China Real Estate Opportunities plc, (CREO). CREO was quoted on AIM in London until February 2007 and had a market capitalisation of £160 million (€231.44 million).

The Treasury Holdings-linked China Real Estate Opportunities (Creo) is seeking re-admission of its shares to the AIM market in London, with a proposed placing to raise up to £260m.

The funds will be used to complete the acquisition of an initial portfolio of seven investment and development properties in Shanghai and Beijing, which will in total cost around £416.6m.

The proposed fund raising is via a placing of up to 34.4 million ordinary shares at a price of £7.56 per share.

The company also plans to pursue opportunities in other cities in China.

"Treasury Holdings China Limited, the Company's investment manager, has identified nine further properties and has conducted initial due diligence in respect of these properties", it said.

Real Estate Opportunities, the property investment vehicle in which Treasury Holdings holds a majority stake, owns 26% of Creo.

Creo's shareholders voted in February to shift its base to Jersey from Luxembourg, and cancelled the AIM listing which it had held since late 2005.

The move resulted from a conditional agreement by Creo to buy the Xidan Centrepoint shopping, office and hotel complex in central Beijing for €362 million from a subsidiary of China Metallurgical Construction.

As the AIM classed the deal a reverse takeover, Creo suspended its shares. Then, following a review, the board decided to switch its base to Jersey.

To facilitate the move, shareholders agreed to liquidate the Luxembourg company and transfer its assets to the Jersey vehicle. In return, the Jersey firm issued equity to the Luxembourg company's shareholders.

Following the shareholders' meeting, which approved these changes, Creo chairman Ray Horney said the company would seek readmission to the AIM at some point this year.