Swiss Prime acquires 30% of Jelmoli Holding in takeover bid

Listed real estate investment company Swiss Prime Site (SPS) has made an unsolicited offer for all the shares in its largest rival, Jelmoli Holding. SPS said the proposed takeover would create an undisputed Swiss leader in real estate with a balanced portfolio valued at CHF 8 bn (EUR 5.3 bn).

Announcing the offer, SPS confirmed it was already the largest shareholder in Jelmoli after acquiring the 30% stake held by Pelham Investments - a company owned by financier Georg von Opel.

SPS is seeking to acquire the rest of the shares with an offer of 7.7 of its own shares for each Jelmoli share. SPS said the offer corresponded to CHF 466 per Jelmoli share based on SPS's net asset value (NAV) at end-March this year. The bid has not been universally welcomed, particularly as Pelham received CHF 250 mln (EUR 165 mln) and 4.5 million SPS shares for its stake, while other existing shareholders are only being offered SPS shares. Jelmoli's board has also rejected SPS's offer.