Vienna-based property group CA Immo said on Thursday that it expects its portfolio value to rise by as much as €205 mln in the fourth quarter of the year, offsetting a €21.5 mln valuation loss registered in the first nine months of the year.
Following a new valuation by independent appraisers, the company expects an overall positive result for 2020 of €180 mln. This compares to a portfolio value increase of €463 mln in the same period a year earlier.
CA Immo said that the result is being driven by the still attractive market environment in Germany (and especially in Berlin, which represents CA Immo’s largest portfolio segment) despite the Covid-19 pandemic. In addition, the company's real estate development activities, both in terms of the progress of ongoing projects under construction and the development of land reserves, generated positive value adjustments. In contrast, hotel and retail assets as well as investment properties in CEE saw value declines over the year.
CA Immo’s real estate portfolio is valued at €5.6 bn at year-end 2020.
The company, which is due to announce full-year results next month, said it expects to significantly outperform its 2020 annual target for recurring earnings of €126 mln.
CA Immo has recently become a takeover target of both Aggregate Holdings, a German-focused real estate investor with €3.6 bn of assets, as well as US investor Starwood.
Aggregate confirmed last month that it is considering a bid for a stake in CA Immo, including possibly launching a partial takeover offer for the Vienna-based, CEE-focused listed property firm.
Aggregate is wholly owned by investor Guenther Walcher and is mostly focused on real estate in Germany, with holdings including a stake in landlord Adler Real Estate.
Earlier in January US investor Starwood announced a full public takeover offer for CA Immo. The Starwood acquisition vehicle, SOF-11 Klimt CAI, has been the largest shareholder in CA Immo since acquiring an initial 26% ownership stake in 2018.
Since then, the BidCo has purchased further shares in the company and as of 8 January holds nearly 30% of the total outstanding voting rights. The vehicle said it intended to cross the 30% threshold only on the receipt of 'regulatory approvals'.
The vehicle has launched an anticipatory mandatory takeover offer for all of CA Immo's remaining shares and convertible bonds, to the tune of €34.44 per CA Immo share on a cum dividend basis, valuing CA Immo at €3.4 bn.
