Singapore’s NTUC Enterprise Co-operative is exploring a sale of its retail malls in the city-state for about $4 billion, according to people with knowledge of the matter.
Mercatus Co-operative, a unit of NTUC that holds the properties, is working with a financial adviser on the potential sale and has reached out to some prospective buyers to gauge interest, the people said. Mercatus manages more than $10 billion of assets, according to its website.
Deliberations are ongoing and there is no guarantee that Mercatus will go ahead with a sale, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the process is private. Representatives for NTUC and Mercatus didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.
At $4 billion, a deal could rank among the year’s top five Singapore deals, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The country’s biggest transaction in 2022 was the takeover of Singapore Press Holdings Ltd. by a consortium led by tycoon Ong Beng Seng.
Mercatus is one of the largest mall owners by floor space in Singapore, its website shows. It owns and runs the AMK Hub, Jurong Point and Swing By @ Thomson Plaza, and co-owns NEX. The company also has strata-titled assets within retail malls and at sites in various locations across Singapore, and One Marina Boulevard, a 31-story office building.
