AmFirst Real Estate Investment Trust (AmFirst REIT) is acquiring “The Summit Subang USJ” for RM260 million from Meda Inc Bhd.

The components within The Summit includes Menara Summit, a 15-storey office tower block which is 100 per cent occupied; a 17-storey, four-star hotel with an average occupancy of 64 per cent; a six-level retail podium which is 93 per cent occupied; and 2,125 parking bays.

The commercial building also includes a hotel. As at December 31 2006, the property encompasses a retail podium and a car park and had a net book value of RM339.6 million.

The purchase will increase AmFirst REIT’s asset size to RM835 million, which is closer to its target asset size of RM1 billion by March 2008.

In a statement, AmFirst REIT said at the price given, The Summit will offer an attractive property yield for its unitholders. The acquisition will be funded by debt or equity, or a combination of both.

Once the purchase has been completed, its gearing or debt relative to equity is expected to increase to 47.5% from 12.7% as at March 31 2007.

The deal is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2008.

In a statement to Bursa Malaysia, Meda said the sale will help it retire borrowings of RM166.29 million, while the rest of the money will be used to grow its core business of property development.