Unite Group Have Confirmed That They Are In Advanced Talks To Acquire Liberty Living

Unite group confirmed yesterday afternoon that they were in advanced talks with Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, the sole shareholder of the UK student accommodation operator Liberty living.

Should this proposed acquisition take place, the group has said that the transaction will be priced on a NAV for NAV basis, which we know that as of 28th February, earlier this year, Liberty Living's NAV value was estimated to be in the region of 1.4 billion pounds.

Unite have said that the transaction will be made up of both cash and shares such that CPPIB would become a significant shareholder upon completion in the ever-expanding behemoth that is Unite Group. It is generally expected that part of the cash for the transaction will be funded by an equity placing but it wouldn't be more than 10% of its total issued capital.

Unite announced that a: "Transformative acquisition which will: leverage Unite's scalable and best-in-class operating platform (PRISM) to deliver significant synergies; sustain Unite's medium-term rental growth outlook, and deliver material earnings accretion and enhance Unite's earnings yield"

Due to the size of Unite, the deal would be subject to a shareholder vote as the transaction would be a Class 1 transaction pursuant to the UK listing rules.

Liberty Living currently operates sites across 19 locations, including but not limited to Birmingham, Bristol, Cardiff, Glasgow, Leeds, Leicester, Liverpool, Newcastle and Southampton.

Image source: Unite Group website