Dipula Properties has agreed to acquire nine shopping centres from Moolman Group and its coinvestors for R2bn. The Protea Gardens mall owner said the transaction will be accretive from day one and would be funded through an equity raise and existing debt facilities. Its loan-to-value ratio is expected to remain between 35% and 40%, within its target range.Dipula CEO Izak Petersen said the acquisition was aimed at strengthening the quality and diversification of the group’s portfolio rather than simply increasing its size.“This is not growth for the sake of scale. It is disciplined, selective growth that strengthens the quality and diversification of our portfolio and is accretive from day one,” Petersen said.The acquisition follows a string of purchases by Dipula over the past year, including Protea Gardens Mall, Gezina Walk, Bayer Klerksdorp, Airborne Business Park and Birch Acres Square in Tembisa, which was acquired for R145.4m.Petersen said the transactions would materially change the composition of Dipula’s portfolio.“The transactions are transformational for Dipula’s portfolio, increasing retail exposure to close to 80% of income in the short term, while reducing office exposure to around 10%,” he said.The group expects to lift income from the properties through active management and efficiencies from its in-house property management platform. The group raised R1.1bn from investors to help fund the deal, which Petersen said showed confidence in Dipula’s strategy.“The strong support for our equity raise also demonstrates investor confidence in our strategy, our disciplined approach to capital allocation and the growth path ahead,” he said.The portfolio is being acquired at a 9.3% yield, which Dipula said makes the deal attractive relative to the cost of funding the acquisition.The portfolio’s largest asset is Lephalale Mall in Limpopo, in which Dipula is acquiring a 50% stake. The mall is valued at about R1.03bn and spans nearly 38,000m2, with Dipula’s stake valued at about R516m.Other Limpopo properties include Checkers Centre Polokwane, City Centre Polokwane and Great North Plaza in Musina.Meanwhile, the Free State portfolio comprises Bloemfontein Makro and a 50% stake in Sasolburg Mall, while Gauteng contributes Kaalfontein Corner in Tembisa and Rand Steam Shopping Centre in Richmond. Game Centre Vryburg in North West completes the portfolio.The properties are anchored by major retailers such as Checkers, Shoprite, Game, Cashbuild and Makro.Moolman, from which the group is acquiring the properties, is part of the team managing Fourways Mall alongside Flanagan & Gerard, which have brought down the vacancies of the mall significantly.Dipula said the money raised from investors would help pay for the shopping centres, with the new shares expected to start trading on the JSE on September 1.“The strong support for our equity raise also demonstrates investor confidence in our strategy, our disciplined approach to capital allocation and the growth path ahead,” Petersen said.Petersen said Dipula and Moolman had a long-standing relationship through previous joint ventures and transactions.Business Day