Globalworth Real Estate’s largest shareholders CPI Property Group and Aroundtown have announced plans to launch an unsolicited bid valuing the listed CEE commercial property owner at €1.57 bn.
CPI and Aroundtown already own 51.5% of Globalworth, which operates mainly in the office sector in Poland and Romania. The two shareholders are offering €7 per share in cash, representing a 19.5% premium over the closing price of €5.86 on the day prior to the announcement. However, it compares poorly to the company’s EPRA net asset value per share, which stood at €8.68 at year-end 2020.
If successful, the two owners would have to disburse €770 mln to buy the remaining shares.
Globalworth ‘strongly advised’ shareholders not to take any action in relation to the offer as it evaluates it, the firm said in a statement.
‘No proposal or details as to the terms of any offer were received by the company before this morning’s announcement,’ it said.
CPI and Aroundtown said they would bolster Globalworth’s ‘positioning as a leading CEE commercial real estate owner and operator’ both through increased investment in existing assets and by expanding its portfolio.
‘CPIPG and Aroundtown believe that this can be best executed under their joint ownership, where access to capital and operational expertise is more readily available,’ they said.
Both companies have competitive advantages that are ‘complementary’ in supporting Globalworth to become a stronger business, they added. Under the new ownership Globalworth would benefit from AT’s strong asset and management skills, which would be enhanced by the local operational management knowledge of CPIPG, as well as rich financial experience and liquidity firepower.
Globalworth, which announced its 2020 financial results last month, wasn’t left unscathed by the pandemic. The business was hit from negative revaluations due to increased uncertainty in the market and the firm closed 2020 year with a pretax loss of €30 mln, versus a profit of €208 mln a year earlier.
Commenting on the Offer, David Greenbaum, Chief Financial Officer of CPI, said: ‘CPI and Aroundtown are both highly experienced, strong and stable owners of European real estate. Working together as partners will allow us to maximize long-term value while maintaining Globalworth's strong investment grade capital structure and excellent teams in Romania and Poland.’
‘Aroundtown believes that Globalworth has a very strong property portfolio, and we are excited to expand our footprint in the CEE region through this partnership with CPI,’ added Eyal Ben David, Chief Financial Officer of Aroundtown.
CPI is one of the largest real estate companies in Central and Eastern Europe with roughly €10 bn of assets. It invests in income-generating assets located predominantly in the Czech Republic, Berlin, Warsaw and the broader CEE region.
Aroundtown is a Luxembourg incorporated real estate company with a focus on income generating quality properties with value-add potential in central locations in top tier European cities primarily in Germany and the Netherlands. Its €41 bn portfolio includes a 41% stake in Grand City Properties.
