Grainger PLC
03 April 2008
3 April 2008
GRAINGER PLC ("GRAINGER")
GRAINGER ANNOUNCES SUCCESSFUL TENDER OFFER FOR FRANCONORHEINMAIN AG
Grainger plc, the UK's largest quoted residential property company, today
announces that its tender offer for FranconoRheinMain AG ("FranconoRheinMain"),
a residential property company listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, has been
successful. The tender offer was made by Grainger's wholly-owned subsidiary,
Grainger FRM GmbH.
This follows Grainger's announcement of 31 January 2008, when it confirmed that
it had exchanged contracts to acquire a 54% shareholding in FranconoRheinMain
from Franconofurt AG ("Franconofurt"), and the subsequent publication of the
tender offer document by Grainger FRM GmbH on 3 March 2008.
The tender offer was subject to a number of completion conditions, including
obtaining acceptances representing at least 70% of FranconoRheinMain shares
(including shares acquired in the market outside the tender offer and the shares
to be acquired from Franconofurt). By the end of the acceptance period, on 2
April 2008, Grainger FRM GmbH had received acceptances representing
approximately 85% of FranconoRheinMain shares (including shares acquired in the
market outside the tender offer and the shares to be acquired from
Franconofurt). The exact number of acceptances is currently being verified by
Grainger FRM GmbH's settlement agent and is expected to be published on 7 April
2008. Consequently, the 70% acceptance threshold set out in the tender offer
document has been reached. In addition, all other completion conditions outlined
in the tender offer document have been met. Settlement of the tender offer in
respect of shares tendered up to 2 April 2008 is expected to take place on 9
April 2008 and completion of the acquisition of the 54% shareholding in
FranconoRheinMain from Franconofurt is expected to take place on or before 9
April 2008.
Grainger will pay €22.8 million for the 54% shareholding in FranconoRheinMain to
be acquired from Franconofurt and expects to pay approximately €15.3 million for
the shares tendered and acquired in the market to date, which Grainger will
satisfy from its existing resources.
Under German takeover law, the remaining shareholders of FranconoRheinMain will
have the opportunity to tender their shares during an additional acceptance
period of two weeks, which is expected to start on 8 April 2008.
Grainger expects that the supervisory board of FranconoRheinMain will be
replaced once its current members have resigned in accordance with the terms of
the acquisition from Franconofurt.
After the closing of the tender offer, Grainger and FranconoRheinMain intend to
enter into a "domination agreement", which will enable Grainger to control
FranconoRheinMain.
Commenting on the transaction, Rupert Dickinson, Chief Executive of Grainger,
said:
"FranconoRheinMain's high-quality portfolio is highly complementary to our
existing German assets and the addition of the properties it contains provides
us with an opportunity to generate strong returns through the application of our
proven asset management skills."
Following the completion of the transaction, Grainger will have an interest in
approximately 6,800 units in Germany with a market value of close to €500
million.
For further information:
Grainger plc
Rupert Dickinson/Quinton Hill Lines
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7795 4700
Lazard & Co., Limited
William Rucker/Patrick Long
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7187 2000
Financial Dynamics
Stephanie Highett/Dido Laurimore/Jamie Robertson
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7831 3113
Notes to Editors
Grainger plc, a member of the FTSE-250 index, is the UK's largest quoted
residential property owner, with over 20,000 units under management across the
UK and in Germany. Grainger's integrated business model, which has been adapted
and improved over its long history, includes trading assets held under regulated
tenancies and investment in assured shorthold tenancies, as well as the
management of all of these properties, development of residential-led mixed-use
schemes and the management of the UK's largest market-rented residential fund.
Lazard & Co., Limited is acting for Grainger and no one else in connection with
the acquisition referred to in this announcement and will not be responsible to
any other person for providing the protections afforded to clients of Lazard &
Co., Limited or for providing advice in relation to the acquisition referred to
in this announcement.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
*A Private Investor is a recipient of the information who meets all of the conditions set out below, the recipient:
Obtains access to the information in a personal capacity;
Is not required to be regulated or supervised by a body concerned with the regulation or supervision of investment or financial services;
Is not currently registered or qualified as a professional securities trader or investment adviser with any national or state exchange, regulatory authority, professional association or recognised professional body;
Does not currently act in any capacity as an investment adviser, whether or not they have at some time been qualified to do so;
Uses the information solely in relation to the management of their personal funds and not as a trader to the public or for the investment of corporate funds;
Does not distribute, republish or otherwise provide any information or derived works to any third party in any manner or use or process information or derived works for any commercial purposes.
Please note, this site uses cookies. Some of the cookies are essential for parts of the site to operate and have already been set. You may delete and block all cookies from this site, but if you do, parts of the site may not work. To find out more about the cookies used on Investegate and how you can manage them, see our Privacy and Cookie Policy
To continue using Investegate, please confirm that you are a private investor as well as agreeing to our Privacy and Cookie Policy & Terms.