TT Int

TT Int says it has entered into an invmt agreement with Prima BB and Utraco Invmt for a combined financial commitment of $92m to develop Big Box, an iconic mega warehouse retail project in Spore. Under the agreement, - TT Int will first assign all its interests in the proposed 8 storey project to be built on a 5.6ha plot of land for $95m, in exchange for 5.1m shares in the BB SPV and record liabilities to TT Int of $89.9m. - Prima and Utraco will then subscribe for 0.65m and 1.05m preference shares in BB SPV and extend unsecured loans amounting to $34.4m and $55.9m respectively. The total cash and loans of $92m will be used to fund initial devt costs. - BB SPV will also grant options for Prima BB and Utraco to subscribe for 1.22m and 1.98m in preference shares. These options can be exercised in the 3mths after the 2nd anniversary of the agreement, subject to the project receiving all regulatory approvals from EDB, JTC and the High Court by 12 Mar ’13. - Assuming full exercise of options, the equity holders of the BB SPV will comprise TT Int (51%), Prima (18.6%) and Utraco (30.4%). TT Int says it has received commitment for project financing amounting to $125m for the project, which will have 1.3m gfa. Big Box will be the last and largest of the 4 warehouse retail projects approved by EDB under the Warehouse Retail Scheme. The other three projects are IKEA, Courts and Giant. Upon completion of construction of the project, Big Box is expected to contribute positively to the financial performance of TT Int. The co has been loss making over 1HMar13, has negative NAV of 13.4cts/sh. The stock is in top volume, +17.6% at $0.174. Prima BB is held by the Prima Group, which has feed milling, food manufacturing, and restaurants businesses. The Utraco Group was started by Dr Tan Ta Sen in 1967 as a water well drilling and installation co. Its business has since diversified to incl contracting, construction and engineering.