Growthpoint Properties Limited (GRT), South Africa's largest JSE-listed property holding and investment company with property assets in excess of R15bn, announces that it has secured 97.24% of Paramount (PRA) linked units in issue through its friendly bid to purchase the smaller company.

Growthpoint will now exercise its entitlement in accordance with the Companies Act (section 440K) to compulsorily acquire the remaining Paramount linked units.

"Paramount will become a subsidiary of Growthpoint and accordingly the listing of the Paramount linked units on the JSE Limited will be terminated.

We expect the entire process to take less than six months," said Norbert Sasse, CEO of Growthpoint Properties Limited. All the conditions for this transaction have been met.

Investec Property Group, asset manager for Growthpoint, has also successfully acquired Paramount's management company Spire Property Services (Pty) Ltd.

The transaction has met Growthpoint's objective of increasing its property portfolio in the Western Cape and will continue to diversify the overall risk within the Growthpoint property portfolio in line with the company's stated objective to maintain an optimal balance of well located sectorally and geographically diversified property assets underpinned by sustainable and growing income return.

The offer for Paramount B debenture holders, which is a non-material effective holding of less than 0.4% of the Paramount linked units in issue resulting from vendor placements for previous transactions, has been extended until 12 noon on Friday, 9 February 2007.

This gives these less accessible, non-listed debenture holders more time to accept the offer. Holders of 56,1% of Paramount B debentures have already accepted the offer.