A joint takeover offer from the Dexus Property Group and the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) for the Commonwealth Property Office Fund (CPA) is now open.

The Dexus-CPPIB consortium making the takeover bid for CPA announced  that it had started mailing its bidder’s statement to CPA unitholders.

“Accordingly, the Dexus offer (Dexus-CPPIB offer) is now open for acceptance,” Dexus said in a statement.

The consortium is offering 77.45 cents and 0.4516 Dexus securities for each CPA unit.

Under the Dexus-CPPIB offer, CPA unitholders will be entitled to retain the CPA distribution for the six months ended December 31, 2013, which is estimated to be 3.5 cents per CPA unit and payable in February 2014.

The consortium’s offer has no minimum acceptance condition and is scheduled to close on February 7, 2014.

Property firm GPT Group has also made a bid for CPA, offering 75.325 cents plus 0.141 GPT securities for each CPA unit.

The GPT offer will be reduced by the amount of the estimated distribution of 3.5 cents per CPA unit for the half-year ended December 31, 2013.

Commonwealth Managed Investments Ltd (CMIL), which is the responsible entity for CPA, has recommended that CPA unitholders do not accept the GPT offer.

CMIL has said the Dexus offer is superior to the GPT offer.

In its target’s statement in response to the GPT offer, CMIL valued the Dexus offer at $1.246 per CPA unit and the GPT offer at $1.203, based on the prices of Dexus and GPT securities on December 20, 2013.

CPA invests in prime quality office property in central business districts and major suburban markets across Australia.  CPA holds 25 assets worth about $3.9 billion in total.

CPA is externally managed by CMIL, which is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Commonwealth Bank.