IVG Immobilien, which was recently granted creditor protection to enable it to restructure, is seeking compensation from former board members in relation to the €950 mln purchase of London's iconic Gherkin tower almost six years ago.
IVG Immobilien, which was recently granted creditor protection to enable it to restructure, is seeking compensation from former board members in relation to the €950 mln purchase of London's iconic Gherkin tower almost six years ago.
An IVG spokesperson confirmed to PropertyEU that Germany's largest listed property company has written to four former board members requesting compensation. He declined to give further details.
Earlier, German business magazine Wirtschaftswoche reported that IVG is demanding €8.5 mln each, plus interest from former CEO Wolfhard Leichnitz who resigned in 2008, as well as former board members Bernd Kottmann, Andreas Barth and Georg Reul. The four served on IVG's board at the time of the 2007 joint acquisition by IVG and UK investment bank Evans Randall of 30 St Mary's Axe, known as the Gherkin, in London.
Wirtschaftswoche said IVG decided to seek compensation from the four following an audit of the transaction. The magazine said that the board members allegedly approved a £52 mln loan to one of the bank's investment vehicles without clearing this with IVG's supervisory board. The article added that IVG also plans to examine other transactions carried out when Leichnitz was CEO from 1 July 2006 to end-September 2008.
