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Conwert Immobilien Invest SE, the Vienna-listed residential property firm, has unveiled a EUR 6.50 per share takeover bid for Austrian peer Eco Business-Immobilien. Conwert already holds just under 25% of the shares in Eco Business and manages the business.

The offer, if fully accepted, could reach a maximum volume of EUR 166.5 mln. Conwert would gain control of a property portfolio of roughly EUR 732 mln - 94% in Austria and Germany - with a rental yield of 6.2%.

The portfolio partly comprises inner-city, mixed-use properties, which Conwert said meets its investment criteria, as well as office and commercial properties.

In a statement on Tuesday, Conwert said the offer price of EUR 6.50 per share represents a premium of 16.5% on the closing price of the Eco share on 14 June and a premium of 34.3% on the six-month average weighted share price.

Conwert's CEO Johann Kowar said: 'Although Eco Business-Immobilien manages the operating business well, its stock exchange listing is less liquid due to the company's size and difficult capital markets access means the company has limited growth opportunities. As a result, the share price is significantly below the book value of the company and, being the largest single shareholder, we are not satisfied with this situation.'

'The public takeover offer enables us to materialise these latent values rapidly and efficiently in the interests of both the Eco and Conwert shareholders. Furthermore, for Conwert, this transaction is earnings and value accretive. ECO shareholders will be offered the unique opportunity to realise a short-term value growth through the attractive cash offer of EUR 6.50 per share.'

Conwert will remain a residential property company even if the takeover goes ahead.

Click on the link below to read: Eco sells Opernringhof for EUR 101m