Oaktree Capital Management and family office Cura Vermoegensverwaltung have launched a voluntary public takeover offer for German retail investor Deutsche EuroShop.
The acqusition deal, which has been proposed on behalf of a consortium of private investment funds, values Deutsche EuroShop at €22.50 per share. An additional amount of €1 per share would be paid in the form of a dividend. This amounts to a premium of 44% over the closing price on 20 May.
Deutsche EuroShop said it had signed an investor agreement with the Bidco and that the supervisory board welcomed and supported the offer.
The SDAX-listed company currently has investments in 21 shopping centres in Germany, Austria, Poland, the Czech Republic and Hungary. The portfolio includes the Main-Taunus-Zentrum near Frankfurt, the Altmarkt-Galerie in Dresden and the Galeria Baltycka in Gdansk, among others.
Otto family bid
Cura is the family office of Germany's Otto dynasty and parent company of ECE Group, and already holds a stake in Deutsche EuroShop.
The acceptance period is expected to commence in June. The offer will be subject to a minimum acceptance threshold of 50% plus one share, including the shares already held by Alexander Otto and other entities controlled by the property magnate, including Cura.
'The offer represents a strategic investment in Deutsche EuroShop to ensure the company is able to respond to the challenges and opportunities in the current retail environment,' the investor consortium said.
Earlier in May, Deutsche EuroShop presented encouraging annual results displaying an EBIT hike of 25% to €39.3 mln. Epra earnings reached €31.3 mln, a rise of 35.5%. At the time CFO Olaf Borkers said that the firm expected '2022 to be a transition year on the way to a new normal'.
The German competition authority BaFin and the European Commission will be petitioned for merger control clearance.
Deutsche EuroShop is advised by Deutsche Bank, which – like Rothschild & Co – has been mandated to provide a fairness opinion. Norton Rose Fulbright is acting as legal advisor.
