Annington with more than 94% of Gagfah shares

German listed housing company Deutsche Annington has now secured 94% of shares tendered by investors in its public takeover bid of Essen-based Gagfah. Having secured the go-ahead from the Federal Cartel Office at the end of January, the transaction is now expected to close this quarter, paving the way for the creation of a new firm with 350,000 residential units valued at about €21bn. The merger will create the second-largest listed property company in mainland Europe, after Unibail-Rodamco.

The Bochum-headquartered Annington is offering five Annington shares and €12.52 in cash for every 14 Gagfah shares, corresponding to €18.00 per share of Gagfah and valuing Gagfah at €3.9bn.The boss of the new combined business will be Annington’s CEO Rolf Buch, while Gagfah CEO Thomas Zinnöcker will be the deputy CEO.