CapitaLand Ascendas REIT (CLAR) is acquiring a newly built Class A logistics facility in the US Midwest from DHL in a sale-and-leaseback deal valued at S$94.5 million ($73.8 million), the Singapore-listed trust’s manager said on Friday.
The property, dubbed DHL Canal Winchester, is a single-storey warehouse in Columbus, Ohio, completed in 2024 with a gross floor area of 755,160 square feet, per the announcement.
DHL Supply Chain (USA) will lease back the entire asset under a long-term lease until December 2030, with options to renew for two additional five-year terms. The lease includes annual rental escalations of 3.5%, the manager, CapitaLand Ascendas REIT Management Limited, said.
The purchase price represents a 3.3% discount to an independent valuation of S$97.7 million as at Jan. 1, 2026, it said, adding that the purchase consideration was negotiated on a willing-buyer and willing-seller basis, and is payable in cash.
The manager intends to finance the total acquisition cost through a combination of internal resources, divestment proceeds, and/or existing debt facilities. The deal is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2026.
“The accretive acquisition underscores our strategy of selectively investing in logistics growth markets in the US with excellent connectivity and deep occupier demand,” said William Tay, chief executive officer and executive director of CapitaLand Ascendas REIT Management.
He added that the deal marks the REIT’s second sale-and-leaseback transaction with DHL in a key US logistics hub, following a similar acquisition in Indianapolis in early 2025.
CLAR expects the acquisition to generate a first-year net property income yield of around 7.4% before transaction costs, and 7.2% after costs, and to be marginally distribution-per-unit accretive on a pro forma basis.
Upon completion, CLAR said the value of its US logistics assets will rise by 17.4% to about S$651.6 million, expanding its footprint to 21 logistics properties across five US cities, with a total gross floor area of roughly 5.9 million square feet, per the announcement.
CLAR is Singapore’s first and largest listed business space and industrial real estate investment trust, having debuted on the Singapore Exchange in November 2002.
As of June 30, 2025, the trust managed S$16.8 billion in assets, comprising 229 properties across three segments: Business Space & Life Sciences, Industrial & Data Centres, and Logistics.
Its portfolio spans Singapore, the United States, Australia, and Europe, supporting a diverse tenant base of about 1,790 local and international companies.
