Warehouses De Pauw WDP invests €30m in food logistics expansion in Belgium

WDP has invested €30m its food logistics portfolio. The acquisition includes five urban distribution sites across Belgium. These sites total 25k sqm of lettable area on 75k sqm of land. The properties are fully leased on long-term triple-net agreements. Four sites are leased to Sligro, and one to Horeca Van Zon. The acquisition was completed via a contribution in kind of 1,468,380 new shares at €20.43 per share, a 5% discount. This move strengthens WDP's partnership with Sligro in the Benelux. The new shares represent 0.63% of WDP's total outstanding shares. We like Contributions in Kind to grow the portfolio as this also improves the LTV and leverages the public equity of the company. This can attract interesting investment opportunities. As WDP is trading around its NTA, these deals are not dilutive for investors. The food logistic segment has been relatively strong as food retail has been adapting to faster supply chain. We repeat our Buy and target price of €32.0 as the valuation remains cheap.