Fortress Investment to inject $540 mln in Japanese rental firm Leoplace21 (updated)
30/09/2020 10:50
(Changes attribution, adds background)
By Junko Fujita
TOKYO, Sept 30 (Reuters) - U.S. investment fund Fortress
Investment Group will inject 57 billion yen ($540 million) in
cash-strapped apartment rental firm Leopalace21 Corp 8848.T ,
the Japanese company said on Wednesday.
The investment by Fortress comes as Leopalace21, which
leases affordable apartment units for their owners, said this
week its liabilities exceeded assets by 11.8 billion yen as of
June.
Leopalace21's balance sheet had been squeezed by costs
relating to repairing apartment buildings and falling rental
income due to weaker demand due to the from the outbreak of the
coronavirus.
Leopalace21 in 2018 disclosed defects in walls for the
properties they manage, as well as issues relating to fire
resistance and noise insulation.
The investment by SoftBank Group-owned 9984.T Fortress
highlights its bet in Japan's housing market, which generates
steady cash flow.
The U.S. investment group in 2017 bought almost 100,000
units of mostly aged apartment buildings from the Japanese
government for about 60 billion yen.
Leopalace21, which operates almost 600,000 units nationwide,
posted 434 billion yen in revenue for the year ended March.
($1 = 105.6100 yen)
(Reporting by Junko Fujita; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
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