Gerard Groener and Ben van der Klift are to resign as CEO and CFO respectively of Dutch listed retail specialist Corio once the company's takeover by French REIT Klépierre has been completed.
Gerard Groener and Ben van der Klift are to resign as CEO and CFO respectively of Dutch listed retail specialist Corio once the company's takeover by French REIT Klépierre has been completed.
The resignations were revealed as part of the offer memorandum issued by the two companies on Monday under which Klépierre has mounted a formal takeover bid for Corio. If approved by shareholders in December, the merger will be implemented in the first or second quarter of 2015.
Following shareholder approval, Klépierre's executive board will consist of Laurent Morel as CEO, Jean-Michel Gault and Jean-Marc Jestin as CFO and COO respectively and David Armitage, currently head of investment strategy at Corio.
Until the merger is completed, Corio will be led by Jean-Marc Jestin and Bruno Valentin as CEO and CFO respectively, with Frédéric Fontaine continuing to serve as chief development officer.
First announced in July, the tie-up will be put to the vote at two extraordinary shareholders’ meetings on 8 December for Corio and 11 December for Klépierre. If approved, the operation will create the second-largest listed retail company in Europe with gross assets of over €21 bn. Market leader Unibail-Rodamco has €26.8 bn of shopping centre assets.
The merger already has the unanimous support of Corio’s management and supervisory boards as well as its largest shareholder APG. It is also backed by Klépierre’s largest shareholders Simon Property Group and BNP Paribas.