Completion of Acquisitions
China Real Estate Opportunities Ltd
08 August 2007
CHINA REAL ESTATE OPPORTUNITIES LIMITED
Completion of Acquisitions, Publication of Circular, Notice of EGM and
appointments at Treasury Holdings China
Completion of Acquisitions
In its admission document published on 10 July 2007, China Real Estate
Opportunities Limited ("CREO" or "the Company") referred to agreements it had
entered into to acquire the City Centre and Central Plaza properties in Shanghai
as key components of its initial portfolio. The Company is pleased to announce
that the acquisition of these properties has now been completed.
City Centre has been acquired for £274,799,860, with financing provided by
Credit Suisse, and Central Plaza has been acquired for £72,838,517, with
financing provided by AAReal Bank. City Centre consists of a retail and office
complex in the Hongqiao district of Shanghai, with an existing gross floor area
of some 187,650 square metres, and a site on which the company plans to
construct a mixed-use development of some 77,500 square metres. Central Plaza is
a 19-storey office building overlooking People's Square in Shanghai having a
gross floor area of 47,247 square metres.
Circular
The Company will today distribute a circular to shareholders together with a
notice of Extraordinary General Meeting to be held on 3 September 2007. The
purpose of this circular is to seek shareholders' authority to enable the
Company to make market purchases of its own shares and, in order to facilitate
this, to approve the requisite waiver by the Panel on Takeovers and Mergers
under Rule 9 of the City of Code on Takeovers and Mergers (the "Rule 9 Waiver").
In the period since the Company's shares were admitted to AIM, market conditions
for equities providing exposure to property markets both in the UK and elsewhere
have deteriorated markedly. In the circumstances, the Board believes that it
would be in the interests of shareholders as a whole for the Company to have the
flexibility to stand in the market place as a potential purchaser of its own
shares.
The Directors, advised by Teather & Greenwood, are recommending shareholders to
vote in favour of the resolution to purchase its own shares and the Independent
Directors, advised by Teather & Greenwood, are recommending shareholders to vote
in favour of the resolution to approve the Rule 9 Waiver.
Appointments
CREO also announces the appointments of Richard David and Richard Ding to the
positions of Managing Director and General Counsel of Treasury Holdings China
("THC") respectively. THC is CREO's investment manager with responsibility for
managing its existing property portfolio, sourcing additional real estate
investments and making investment decisions, subject to overall supervision by
the Board of Directors of CREO.
Richard David has joined THC from Macquarie Bank Limited, where he was managing
director of Macquarie Real Estate Capital China. Richard has since 1999 overseen
the operations of Macquarie China, including several business units operating
within the real estate sector across China. Richard has extensive experience in
all facets of transactional activity and in real estate development, asset
acquisitions, finance, tax, corporate structures and investor relations. In
Macquarie he had ultimate responsibility for staff and financial management.
Richard Ding has been appointed General Counsel of THC. In this position,
Richard has responsibility for all legal matters for THC. Prior to joining THC,
Richard was General Counsel, and Director, Strategy & Corporate Transactions for
global automotive supplier Visteon Corporation's Asia Pacific operations.
Previously Richard was Managing Director of Concord Venture Capital Group, a
leading Asia Pacific venture capital firm, gaining extensive experience within
corporate finance, mergers and acquisitions, and venture investment with a focus
on cross-border transactions in or involving Asia Pacific and China.
Rob Tincknell, who became Managing Director of THC in 2006, has been appointed
Deputy Chairman of THC. He is also a Director of CREO.
Rob Tincknell commented:
"We are delighted to have made appointments of this calibre to support CREO's
operations in China. Both have experience and expertise in China and will prove
valuable additions to the substantial resources that Treasury Holdings have
already committed here. Both Richard Barrett and myself will remain in Shanghai
full time, underlining the significance and focus we are bringing to our
operations here."
CREO
Ray Horney Tel: + 44 (0) 1273 775 225
Richard Barrett Tel: + 862 1 5385 8369
Robert Tincknell Tel: + 862 1 5385 8369
Teather & Greenwood Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7426 7736
Paul Fincham
Jonathan Becher
Robert Naylor
Bankside Consultants Ltd Tel: + 44 (0) 20 7367 8888
Simon Rothschild
Oliver Winters
Murray Consultants
Elizabeth Headon Tel: + 353 1 498 0300
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