ARTICLES LABELLED WITH TAG Austria

Low interest rates and high inflation continue to drive demand for investment properties with the residential asset class remaining highly popular. As more and more private individuals, family offices and trusts are diversifying their portfolios, Arnold Investments has greatly expanded their commercial property segment. Investments in critical retail properties, logistics and offices are currently interesting, but hotels are also performing surprisingly well. Multinational brokerage firm Arnold Investments, which supported almost 100 transactions in 2021, summarised key investment market trends in Austria and other regional countries.

With the ending of the acceptance period of its takeover offer for Immofinanz, CPI Property Group announced that it will soon hold at least 53.33% of Immofinanz’s share capital and voting rights.

The Executive Board and Supervisory Board of Immofinanz have issued supplementary statements on the announcement by CPI Property Group SA (CPIPG) of the increase in the offer price to €23.00 per share (cum dividend) and increase in CPIPG’s investment in Immofinanz to roughly 48.18% through the purchase of shares from S Immo AG. The Executive Board and Supervisory Board still view the improved offer price as too low given the successful development of Immofinanz and the current value of the company. Moreover, the offer price does not include an appropriate control premium in connection with CPIPG’s intention to attain control over Immofinanz.

Savills has signed an association agreement with Modesta Real Estate, located in Vienna, to support its continued expansion across Europe and the Middle East. Modesta Real Estate will collaborate with Savills to service existing clients whilst liaising with Savills offices and other partners in CEE to build relationships across the wider region. Modesta Real Estate also has an office in Bratislava and will be collaborating closely with Savills’ Czech office to ensure further service delivery in Slovakia.

CPI Property Group is continuing its efforts towards the takeover of Immofinanz. It has increased its holding in Immofinanz to 35.5% and subsequently also increased its offer price.

The Executive Board, Supervisory Board and Works Council of Immofinanz issued statements in which they indicate that the offer price of €21.20 per share is viewed as not attractive and recommend that investors not accept the offer by CPIPG for Immofinanz’s shares and convertible bonds.

After issuing a green bond in 2020, CA Immo signed its second sustainability-linked financing instrument at the end of 2021: a €300 million 3-year revolving credit facility (RCF) with two one-year extension options, whose margin is amongst others tied to the company's sustainability performance.

In early December 2021, S Immo announced a partial takeover to the shareholders of Immofinanz, only three days after a similar offer was made by CPI Property Group. Today, the Executive Board, Supervisory Board and Works Council of Immofinanz have issued statements in which they indicate that the offer price of €23.00 per share is viewed as not sufficiently attractive. The Executive Board and Supervisory Board, therefore, recommend that shareholders not accept the partial offer by S Immo for approximately 10% of the outstanding Immofinanz shares.

CPI Property Group has announced an anticipatory mandatory takeover offer for all outstanding shares of Immofinanz AG. Shareholders are to be offered €21.20 in cash per Immofinanz share. Immofinanz said that it will review the offer in detail and will comment on it in due course in accordance with the Austrian Takeover Act.

The Management Board and Supervisory Board of CA Immo have decided to start evaluating all strategic options for the core market of Romania, including a potential sale of the entire portfolio. The company published its interim results for Q1-Q3 2021.