PLENITUDE UNIT TO INVEST IN 14-STOREY HOTEL IN OSAKA

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 30 -- Plenitude Bhd through its 100 per cent owned indirect subsidiary, Plenitude Osaka Sdn Bhd (POSB) has entered into a conditional Trust Beneficiary Interest Sale and Purchase Agreement (PSA) with Ichigo Estate Co Ltd to purchase 100 per cent stake of Osaka Trust worth 2.65 billion yen (RM97.57 million).

Osaka Trust is a real estate investment trust which was established by agreement between NihonLifeCreator Co Ltd as initial settlor and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation as trustee under The Trust Act and invested in a 14-storey hotel in Osaka, Japan.

In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, Plenitude said POSB would incorporate a tokutei mokuteki kaisha (TMK), a special purpose company established under the Law Concerning Liquidation of Assets.

"The PSA will be assigned to TMK to acquire the Osaka Trust," the company said.

The proposed investment of a 14-storey hotel with 136 rooms is expected to be completed by Jan 25, 2022.

The hotel is sold with vacant possession of the hotel rooms and with the existing lease of the retail shop to be assigned to the TMK, it said.

It is currently leased by Ichigo to Hakata Hotels Inc and was operated as a OneFive brand and named ‘The OneFive Osaka Midosuji Hotel’.

The company said Plenitude currently owns nine hospitality assets and the hotel acquisition would be a continuation of the company’s diversification of country risk in its hospitality business.

“The proposed investment presents an attractive opportunity for Plenitude to further extend our hospitality segment into the foreign market as Japan is currently the third largest economy in the world and Osaka is a popular travel destination," it said.

In addition, the proposed investment is expected to contribute positively to the future earnings of the Plenitude Group but is not expected to have a material impact on the earnings and earnings per share for the financial year ending June 30, 2022.

The company also expects the proposed investment to increase the group's gearing from 23.2 per cent to 25.8 per cent for the financial year ending June 30, 2022.

-- BERNAMA