Holowent's bid for NR Nordic & Russia fails

Holowent, the investment vehicle of the Livingstone brothers, has failed in its takeover bid for NR Nordic & Russia Properties. Euronext-listed NR Nordic & Russia is a real estate investor focusing on Russia, the Baltics and the Nordic region.

NR Nordic & Russia said that Holowent's EUR 114 mln cash offer expired this week with only 2.4% of shareholders accepting it. Holowent holds a 24.6% stake in the company, which owns a portfolio worth some EUR 555 mln.

NR Nordic & Russia's directors 'consider that there should be further upside value in the company and its assets, when confidence in their underlying markets return and property prices start rising again', the company said.

Holowent offered 24 euro cent in cash per share to acquire NR Nordic & Russia Properties at the end of January. The offer represented a 26% premium to the average closing price of the company shares before takeover speculation mounted in the market.

'NR Nordic Shares are extremely illiquid and we believe that our offer represents the only sure route to liquidity for NR Nordic shareholders who wish to sell their shares at a fair price,' the two property entrepreneurs Ian and Richard Livingstone commented at the time.

Lazard is advising Holowent. Numis Securities is acting as financial adviser to the independent directors of NR Nordic.

The company's portfolio consists of 38 properties with 985,000 m² of floor area and an annual gross rental income of EUR 74.4 mln. Around 67% of NR Nordic's assets by value were held in Sweden and 21% in Russia.