Eureka buys NSW housing portfolio for $123.8M

• Eureka Group agreed to purchase six communities from Ingenia Communities Group (ASX:INA) for $123.8 million.
• The transaction is funded by a fully underwritten $80.2 million equity raising alongside $53.6 million in new debt facilities.
• The acquisition expands the company's managed portfolio to 70 villages and boosts its overall site count by 21%.

Eureka Group (ASX:EGH) has executed an agreement to acquire six lifestyle communities for $123.8 million to expand its residential rental presence.

The six properties, purchased from Ingenia Communities Group (ASX:INA), add 953 sites across Greater Sydney, the Central Coast, the Hunter Valley, and Shoalhaven.

"The acquisition is transformational for Eureka, adding 953 established sites across Greater Sydney and other key NSW locations, materially increasing scale and reinforcing Eureka’s status as the only ASX-listed pure-play residential rental specialist," said Eureka Managing Director and CEO Simon Owen.

To partially fund the deal, the business launched a fully underwritten 1-for-3.29 accelerated non-renounceable entitlement offer to raise $80.2 million.

Following the announcement, the Eureka share price was unchanged at $0.61.

The transaction increases the firm's New South Wales portfolio allocation from 8% to 24% of its total homes and sites.

The company stated that the deal lifts total assets under management by 23% to $666 million while upgrading its full-year underlying earnings guidance to at least 4.2 cents per share.