Arena sells five commercial properties

Arena sells five commercial propertiesArena Investment Management has sold five property assets to Anton Capital for a combined net price of $249.3 million before fees, with settlement scheduled for late January 2015.Arena Investment Management (Arena), which is a responsible entity of the Arena Property Fund (APF) and Arena Office Fund (AOF), has divested itself of the following five assets:· Victoria Police Centre, Melbourne, Victoria (AOF)· 1-3 Smail Street, Ultimo, Sydney, NSW (APF)· 235 Pyrmont Street, Pyrmont, Sydney, NSW (AOF)· Customs House, Fremantle, WA (APF) · Eden Business Park, Auckland, NZ (AOF)JLL was engaged by Arena as a corporate adviser and led an ‘expressions of interest’ campaign that covered a range of alternative transaction structures to optimise the liquidity outcome for Arena’s investors in both AOF and APF. It marketed the assets for sale individually and as a portfolio, as an opportunity to recapitalise the Arena funds, and with the potential to also acquire Arena’s investment management platform.According to David Ross, chairman of Arena, “The sale of the residual direct property assets in APF and AOF will be the culmination of a three-year turnaround program implemented by Arena that has delivered strong returns to investors within both the Arena Property Fund and Arena Office Fund, and which will lead to a full liquidity event in accordance with the December 2011 strategy plan.”Anton Capital is property investment and advisory group associated with Anthony Kingsley and Tony Martin.