REAL ESTATE - Property investor and manager Rodamco Europe proposes to split its shares to increase its liquidity and accessibility.
At its next annual general meeting, the company will ask shareholders to agree to a split in the ratio of 4 new shares for 1 existing share, it said.
Currently, Rodamco Europe’s shares trade at €103.50, which is approximately four times the price of the average share of €27.19 (unweighted) traded at the Euronext AEX index, it explained.
"After the split, the Rodamco shares will trade at around €25.88, which is more in line with the average. The share split will positively affect the liquidity and will make the share more accessible for private investors," the company said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Rodamco said it agreed to sell its Zeilgalerie retail centre in Frankfurt to Signature Capital, an Irish-based property company.
The €42.5m transaction is well above the latest book value. The divestment will take place at a net initial yield of 5.3%, it added.
According to Rodamco, the centre is located on the prime pedestrian retail high street of Frankfurt, and consists of 57 units totalling 12,600 m2. The transaction is expected to take effect as of the end of February.
"The sale is in line with our policy of divesting non-core investments. The Zeilgalerie is considered non-core, because of its relatively small size and third party management," Rodamco stated.
Rotterdam-based Rodamco Europe is the largest publicly listed property investment and management company in the retail sector in Europe. The €10bn company focuses on the Netherlands, Belgium, the Nordic countries, France, Spain and Central Europe.
