By Dominic Chopping
Public Property Invest, a Norwegian property owner in which Sweden's SBB holds a 44.8% stake, is preparing for a possible initial public offering and listing in Oslo.
Samhallsbyggnadsbolaget i Norden--known as SBB--borrowed heavily to pay for a sprawling portfolio of public property, including social housing, healthcare facilities, schools and government buildings, but after being hit hard by rising interest rates it has been selling and spinning out portions of its portfolio to raise cash.
In connection with the IPO, SBB said it is discussing a transfer of parts of its Norwegian property portfolio and its Norwegian organization to Public Property Invest.
"The contemplated transaction enables access to equity and credit markets and facilitates the desired investment grade risk level," said SBB Chief Executive Leiv Synnes. "SBB does not intend to decrease its ownership, the ambition is to support PPI in the long-term and thus benefit from the strong fundamentals that this investment offers."
Public Property Invest owns 48 properties across Norway worth around 9 billion Norwegian kroner ($862.3 million), with 92% of its rental income coming from the Norwegian state or Norwegian municipalities.
Write to Dominic Chopping at dominic.chopping@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 02, 2024 07:05 ET (12:05 GMT)
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