Pan-European investment giant Aroundtown has disclosed plans to increase its ongoing share buy-back programme to a maximum of €1 bn, in the face of its shares being priced at a 'significant' discount to net asset value.
The firm's board of directors announced that in addition to its ongoing share buy-back programme as announced on 2 June, it would also execute a public share purchase offer of up to 165 million company shares, at prices in the range of €4.6 to €5.0 per stock.
The acceptance period will start on 3 September and end on 16 September, and run in parallel to the firm's existing buy-back programme, with the total buy-back programme volume set at a maximum €1 bn.
The firm explained that it had decided to increase its share buy-back strategy following recent successful disposal activity, selling around €1 bn in assets this year at prices above book value. In June, x+bricks bought a €500 mln German grocery portfolio from the firm's subsidiary TLG Immobilien.
Aroundtown said in a note to the press that 'the opportunity to acquire its own shares at a significant discount to net asset value, fuelled by disposals above book value, enable the company to capitalise on the wide gap between the share price and actual market levels and the current operational performance of Aroundtown'. It added that the company's conservative financial policy would be sustained under the buy-back programme.
Aroundtown is currently in advance negotiations for disposals of over €1 bn, in addition to the €1 bn disposals signed year-to-date. The share buy-back programme utilises the shareholder authorisation received during the firm's ordinary general meeting in May 2020, enabling the company to acquire up to 20% of the aggregate nominal amount of issued share capital.
Aroundtown completed its takeover of TLG in November last year, to create a €25 bn pan-European property giant with a focus on Germany and the Netherlands.
