DGAP-News: Aareal Bank AG / Tag(s): Mergers & Acquisitions
04.02.2022 / 19:31
The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement.
Unsuccessful takeover bid by financial investors –
Aareal Bank pursues its growth strategy
– Aareal Bank Group will exploit additional growth potential in all segments from its own strengths
– Next Ordinary General Meeting to decide on the 2021 dividend, as well as on the second retained tranche of €1.10 per share
– Jochen Klösges: “Our shareholders want to continue to support us on our path of creating sustainable value – which we will continue with our own strengths.”
Wiesbaden, February 4, 2022 – Atlantic BidCo GmbH (“BidCo” – the “Bidder”), a bidding company indirectly owned by financial investors Advent International Corporation and Centerbridge Partners, LP along with other co-investors – including the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) – today announced that its voluntary tender offer for all shares of Aareal Bank AG was unsuccessful: according to the Bidder’s announcement, the level of minimum acceptance of 60% had not been reached at the end of the acceptance period on February 2, 2022, 24:00 (local time Frankfurt/Main). Consequently, the tender offer will lapse; existing shareholders will retain ownership of their tendered shares, which will be reallocated to the original class of shares.
Jochen Klösges, Managing Director of Aareal Bank, said: “We supported the offer because, from a strategic point of view, it was in the interest of the company and its stakeholders. However, our shareholders have decided not to sell their shares to the extent necessary. Instead, they want to continue supporting us on our journey of creating sustainable value. We will now continue to implement our successful strategy from our own strengths. Aareal Bank Group has significant growth potential in all its segments, which we want to pursue consistently in the years to come. Of course, we will maintain an in-depth dialogue with our investors.
Specifically, for example, Aareal Bank plans to continue on the path of growth already accelerated in the past financial year and to exploit the opportunities available for new attractive real estate finance activities to an even stronger extent than initially. announced at the beginning of 2021. The volume of the portfolio, which has already reached the level of 30 billion euros at the end of 2021 – one year ahead of schedule – is expected to increase further, by 1 billion euros per year during over the next three years, and thus to 33 billion euros by 2024, with corresponding positive effects on net interest income. To support this growth, Aareal Bank will leverage its strong capital position for forward-looking investments. Marc Hess, CFO: “In the current environment, we have good opportunities to take some very profitable new business on our books. As in 2021, we want to seize these opportunities – and we are confident that we will be able to create value for our shareholders.”
Growth initiatives should also accelerate in the other segments of the Group: for example, the IT subsidiary Aareon will further intensify its M&A activities, which have already been very successful in recent years. The funds available for this purpose should be further increased.
Aareal Bank thus affirms its stated objective of consolidated operating profit for 2023 of approximately 300 million euros; given the successful implementation of growth plans, a significantly higher figure is possible for 2024. In fact, despite maintaining a high loss provision required due to the pandemic, Aareal Bank is confident that it will be able to generate a consolidated operating profit for the current financial year 2022. year that will reach approximately pre-pandemic levels (2019: €248 million).
Furthermore, as already indicated, Aareal Bank plans to submit to the vote of the next General Meeting the second tranche of dividend of €1.10 per share, which was retained within the framework of the public tender offer. In addition, the General Meeting must decide on the dividend proposal – yet to be determined – for the 2021 financial year.
Aareal Bank Group will provide more details on its growth plans across all segments when presenting its 2021 results on February 24. During the past financial year, the Company recorded a significant variation in results, despite the charges of the second year of the coronavirus pandemic, exceeding material strategic objectives under its “Aareal Next Level” program. Its forecast of a markedly positive consolidated operating profit in the range between 100 and 175 million euros – confirmed for the last time during the presentation of the results for the third quarter – remains intact.
contacts
Marguerite Thiel
Telephone: +49 611 348-2306
Mobile: +49 171 2069740
[email protected]
About Aareal Bank Group
Aareal Bank Group, headquartered in Wiesbaden, is a leading international real estate specialist. It provides smart financing, software products and digital solutions for the real estate sector and related industries, and is present on three continents: Europe, North America and Asia/Pacific. Aareal Bank AG, whose shares are included in Deutsche Börse’s SDAX index, is the Group’s parent entity. It manages the various entities organized in the Group’s businesses: Structured Real Estate Financing, Banking & Digital Solutions and Aareon. The Structured Real Estate Finance segment encompasses all the financing and real estate financing activities of the Aareal Bank Group. Here, the Bank accompanies its clients in carrying out large-volume tertiary real estate investments. Investment properties mainly include office buildings, hotels, shopping malls, logistics and residential properties, as well as student apartments. In the Banking & Digital Solutions segment, Aareal Bank Group supports companies in the housing, property management and energy sectors as a partner in digitalization – combining extensive advisory services and product solutions with services traditional business banking and deposit taking. Its subsidiary Aareon, the leading provider of ERP software and digital solutions for the European real estate sector and its partners, represents the third business segment. Aareon digitizes the real estate industry by delivering user-centric software solutions that simplify and automate processes, support sustainable and energy-efficient operations, and interconnect all process participants.
04.02.2022 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by the DGAP – a service of EQS Group AG.
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