CPI gains control of Vienna-listed Immofinanz - is it eyeing up S Immo?

The Luxembourg-based CPI Property Group said it had gained control of about 53.3% of Vienna-listed Immofinanz AG shares via a tender for the company's shares and convertible bonds, whose acceptance period ended on February 23rd.

The tender result had been expected, despite the Immofinanz board urging shareholders to reject the offer, as being too low.

Investors tendered 7.13 million shares in the mandatory takeover offer launched by Czech billionaire Radovan Vitek’s company, taking its stake to 53.3%, according to the results published on February 24th.

The share offer price of €23.00 euros per Immofinanz share and the convertible bond offer price of €111,470.29 for each nominal amount of €100,000 will be paid out no later than March 9, CPI said.

Earlier in February, CPI had moved a step closer to the majority holding in Immofinanz by buying fellow Austrian peer S Immo's 12.69% stake in Immofinanz for €23.00 each share, equating to a total transaction of about €400m.

The deal values Immofinanz at €3.18bn, and enlargens the volume of real estate assets controlled by CPI Property to nearly €17bn. As a by-product, the majority share CPI holds in Immofinanz also gives it control of the 26.5% stake Immofinanz holds in its Viennese rival S Immo - which it might now possibly zone in on as its next takeover target.

Although incorporated in Luxembourg, CPI is largely a Czech-based organisation which owns and manages about €10bn of commercial property assets in eastern Europe, Germany, France, Italy, Luxembourg and Switzerland, dovetailing with Immofinanz's €5.0 bn of assets, including five properties in Germany valued at €450m and project developments of €140m. CPI's German interests consist of light industrial concern GSG Berlin.