Prelios is proceding with talks with two rival bidders offering to invest in the loss-making Italian real estate company, and will also involve its creditors and its controlling shareholders.
Prelios is proceding with talks with two rival bidders offering to invest in the loss-making Italian real estate company, and will also involve its creditors and its controlling shareholders.
Italian investment firm Feidos and the UK arm of US asset manager Fortress Investment Group have separately tabled cash injection proposals that would see them becoming shareholders in Prelios.
Prelios' management has studied the proposals and announced it intends to continue the negotiations. The board is to decide on the offers by 10 October, with a shareholders meeting on 18 December.
Prelios had EUR 11.7 bn in assets under management at end-June 2012. The Milan-based listed property services firm saw net loss widens to EUR 126 mln in the first half of 2012 from a EUR 500,000 profit in the same period last year. The huge earnings drop was due to a combination of writedowns on its property and non-performing loan portfolio and restructuring expenses.
According to market rumours, Feidos investment has put EUR 150 mln in cash on the table, while Fortress is believed to be planning a EUR 100 mln capital injection, consisting of EUR 50 mln in cash and another EUR 50 mln in assets. In Italy, Fortress is already active through an asset management unit, Torre sgr, as well as a credit servicing business, Italfondiario.
