Status: 11/22/2021 8:26 a.m.
Germany’s largest rental company Vonovia wants to raise around eight billion euros through a capital increase in order to finance the takeover of competitor Deutsche Wohnen.
The real estate group Vonovia wants to collect around eight billion euros as part of a capital increase. With this, the company finances part of the sum for the purchase of the competitor Deutsche Wohnen. Vonovia will issue around 201 million new shares to partially repay a loan to finance the takeover, as the DAX group announced.
Vonovia secured a majority of 86.7 percent in Deutsche Wohnen in October after several unsuccessful attempts. The two companies together own more than 500,000 apartments valued at more than 80 billion euros, most of them in Germany. Vonovia had spent around 17 billion euros on Deutsche Wohnen shares.
According to the company, the combined market share in Germany is around two percent. The deal is particularly controversial in Berlin, where Deutsche Wohnen owns around 114,000 apartments. In order to appease critics, Vonovia boss Rolf Buch had announced, among other things, a limit on the regular rent increases in Berlin until 2026.
Merger completed
In the case of the capital increase, 20 existing shares will entitle the holder to purchase seven new shares via indirect subscription rights at a subscription price of EUR 40 each. The subscription period for the papers is expected to begin on November 24th and end on December 7th, according to the company.
“With this capital increase we are completing the process of the merger with Deutsche Wohnen,” said Vonovia CFO Helene von Roeder. Vonovia shareholders can now “obtain new shares at an attractive price” through the capital increase announced in May.
To finance the deal, Vonovia had secured a bridge loan of just over 20 billion euros. In addition to the capital increase for financing, apartments are also to be sold. In Berlin, real estate companies are selling almost 15,000 apartments to the public sector for around 2.46 billion euros.
“We can now join forces to tackle the major societal and social challenges in the housing market,” Vonovia boss Buch announced. Buch had to tremble for a long time about the takeover; In the summer, the industry giant even missed the majority it was aiming for.