Vienna-listed residential property firm Conwert Immobilien Invest SE has announced that it now owns just over 87% of Austrian commercial real estate firm Eco Business-Immobilien after the majority of Eco shareholders accepted its takeover offer. The competition authorities in Germany and Austria, where Eco Business owns properties, have already approved the deal.
Vienna-listed residential property firm Conwert Immobilien Invest SE has announced that it now owns just over 87% of Austrian commercial real estate firm Eco Business-Immobilien after the majority of Eco shareholders accepted its takeover offer. The competition authorities in Germany and Austria, where Eco Business owns properties, have already approved the deal.
By the end of the acceptance period on 30 July, the offer was accepted for a total of 21.3 million shares, or about 62.3% of the share capital, exceeding the minimum acceptance threshold of more than 50% of the remaining 12.7 million Eco Business shares. Taking into account the Eco Business shares that Conwert held prior to the takeover offer, Conwert now owns 29.7 million Eco Business shares, or roughly 87.2% of the share capital.
Johann Kowar, chairman of the Executive Board of Conwert Immobilien Invest SE: 'The excellent acceptance rate shows that our offer is highly attractive. The acceptance of our offer was an important prerequisite to enhancing Eco’s value. We will now implement this strategy consistently in the interest of all shareholders.'
The acceptance period of the public takeover offer for the remaining untendered shares has been extended by three months to 3 November 2010.
Conwert unveiled a EUR 6.50 per share takeover bid for Eco Business in mid-June. At the time Conwert held just under 25% of the shares in Eco Business and manages the business.
The offer, if fully accepted, could reach a maximum volume of EUR 166.5 mln. Conwert would gain control of a property portfolio of roughly EUR 732 mln - 94% in Austria and 6% in Germany - with a rental yield of 6.2%.
