Castellum, one of the Nordic region's largest listed real estate companies, has abandoned immediate plans for a takeover of Norwegian peer Entra.
The Stockholm-listed firm announced it had withdrawn its conditional voluntary exchange and cash offer to acquire all outstanding shares in Entra, after a lukewarm response from Entra shareholders.
Castellum launched a NOK 30.8 bn (€2.9 bn) takeover bid for Entra in November as part of plans to create the largest property company in the region.
However, Entra stated from the start that it preferred to remain independent, rejecting an informal offer before the bid was officially tabled.
In addition, interest from rival parties appeared to complicate matters. Although the Norwegian government, which held an 8.2% stake in Entra, agreed to sell its shares to Castellum at NOK 169 per share, keen interest from investor SBB threatened to create a bidding war for the entire operation.
Balder, another Swedish property firm, managed to accrue a 20% stake in Entra, essentially giving it the power to block either takeover, with both Castellum and SBB seeking acceptance levels of 90% from Entra's shareholders.
The acceptance period for the Castellum offer expired on 6 February, with the firm stating that it had failed to meet the minimum acceptance threshold required.
Just days before, Entra had reiterated to its shareholders that they should not sell to any of the bidders.
'The board recommends the Entra shareholders with a long term view on their investment to not accept any of the offers,' said Chairwoman Siri Hatlen at the time, adding that the recommendation was unanimous.
Released
In withdrawing its offer, shareholders who have agreed to sell are relieved of their obligations, and all blockings of Entra shares tendered are also released.
Henrik Saxborn, Castellum CEO, commented: 'Castellum's ambition to develop the Nordic platform in offices and logistics remains.
'The company currently has one of the Nordic region's strongest balance sheets with a loan-to-value ratio of approximately 40% after the divestment to Blackstone and will continue to acquire and develop new projects where Castellum has ongoing projects for approximately SEK 4.7 bn (€460 mln).'
