CA Immo-O1 to sue Immofinanz chief over 'false and misleading statements'

Austria's CA Immo and Russian investor O1 Group have said they are taking legal action against Immofinanz CEO Eduard Zehetner over comments he made to a magazine about the on-going partial takeover battle between the two sides.

In a statement on Monday, CA Immobilien Anlagen and O1 Group emphasised that they had complied with 'all regulatory rules' regarding the €422 mln share offer they tabled officially last Wednesday for a 13.5% stake in Vienna and Warsaw-listed Immofinanz. CA Immo and O1 went on to 'thoroughly rebut claims of the opposite by the CEO of Immofinanz, [Eduard] Zehetner, published in the current issue of Profil magazine.'

Both CA immo and O1 Group said they will take legal recourse against Zehetner for his false and misleading statements.

In the statement, CA Immo and O1 Group recalled that they had recently launched a voluntary partial tender offer of €2.80 per share for 13.5% of the shares in Immofinanz, a major real estate investor-developer active in Austria, Germany, CEE and Russia. 'As a result, the share price of Immofinanz immediately appreciated significantly from a level of €2.40 to €2.80, to the benefit of all Immofinanz shareholders. We note that at the time of our announcement, Mr Zehetner, CEO of Immofinanz, publicly welcomed CA Immo as a new shareholder.'

The statement continues: 'CA Immo clarifies that contrary to the view presented by Mr Zehetner, no contractual obligations against Immofinanz have been breached. Mr. Zehetner completely ignores the conduct of Immofinanz when in summer of 2014 they submitted a binding offer to acquire a 16% stake in CA Immo, clearly stating that there was no such stand still agreement in place.

'Additionally we highlight the invitation extended to members of the current bidding consortium by representatives of Immofinanz AG during the fourth quarter of 2014 to buy shares of Immofinanz, which eventually they did, under strict compliance with all relevant reporting duties. As the share price development of Immofinanz since then shows, this was also to the benefit of all Immofinanz shareholders. We call on Mr. Zehetner and Immofinanz to stop actions that interfere with our Tender Offer and to stop taking actions that harm the interests of all shareholders.'

Immofinanz is to ask its shareholders on 17 April to back a €530 mln counter-bid for a 29% stake in CA Immo. CA Immo and O1 Group have branded the counter-offer as an 'emotional reponse' to their bid.