Sekisui House Breaks Into REITs Market

Japan's leading homebuilder Sekisui House will acquire a mid-sized real estate investment trust company to enter into the REIT sector, according to Nikkei. Sekisui House will buy a 75% interest in Joint Capital Partners Co., the operator of Joint Reit Investment Corp., for an estimated several billion yen. Spring Investment Co., the Japanese arm of an Australian real estate investment fund, will also take a stake. Joint Reit Investment has more than 100 billion yen in total assets. Its former parent, real estate developer Joint Corp., went bankrupt last May. Sekisui House aims to increase the unit's assets to around 200 billion yen, using its holdings of rental properties. This merger is likely to stimulate the long-depressed REIT market.