A BIDDING war has erupted over the Abrdn Property Income Trust, as the £592m Urban Logistics REIT has made a counteroffer to Custodian Property Income's bid.

In a stock exchange notice, Urban Logistics said it had made an offer 13 per cent above Custodian's initial approach valuing Abrdn's shares at 0.469 Urban Logistics shares, or 59.2p per share.

The merger offer from Custodian, which was made last month, was one of many in a wave of real estate investment trust merger proposals that have emerged in the sector over the last month.

Urban Logistics said the potential merger would be between "highly complementary portfolios," as only nine per cent of the combined portfolio would be outside logistics and retail warehouses.

If successful, the merger would see the two real estate investment trusts combine into a £830m FTSE 250 constituent.

The Abrdn trust said in a stock exchange announcement that it had noted the bid, which it received last Friday, and would now be waiting for a firm offer from Urban Logistics. Urban Logistic's shares closed down 5.57 per cent.

(c) 2024 City A.M., source Newspaper