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Swedish real estate company Castellum is increasing its bid for Entra to NOK 185 per share, the company writes in a stock announcement. The offering is designed as eight Castellum shares for every 13 Entra shares, as well as NOK 54.39 per share in cash offerings.
The previous offering was for NOK 170.86 per share with a cash stake of just over NOK 25 per share.
The game about the Norwegian real estate giant has taken many turns, and most recently this week the Swedish SBB announced that it has changed its mind and will continue to bid on Entra. Therefore, the battle between Castellum and SBB was still very much alive. SBB has so far offered NOK 165 per share, but with a cash stake of around NOK 150.
The Entra board has set a deadline of Monday next week to make a decision on the tender. They have not recommended neither the first offer from SBB nor the one from Castellum, but have invited new offers.
– I submit offers for the same reason as a month ago. This is an opportunity that we cannot pass up. We believe that the two of us together are so strong that we can become unbeatable. We believe that it is necessary for the future that you can not only buy a house, but also take care of the environment, says CEO Henrik Saxborn in Castellum to DN about the new offer.
– You have previously said that you hope to finish the process inside the Christmas mulled wine. Do you still believe it?
– I fight for it and hope to drink the Christmas mulled wine in peace, but this is a process that will take a while.
– What do you think will be the next step for SBB? Will they raise the bid?
– Only SBB can answer that.
Enter: «Will Evaluate Thoroughly»
In a stock exchange announcement late Friday afternoon, the Entra board commented on Friday’s upward offering for the company from Sweden’s Castellum.
– The board appreciates Castellum’s continued interest in Entra and highlights the significant improvement in financial conditions compared to Castellum’s previous proposal. The board, with the help of its advisers, will carefully evaluate the offer. The board will make an additional announcement when appropriate, says board chair Siri Hatlen in Entra.
A third player
The battle for a long time appeared to be between Gamecocks CEO Ilija Batljan at SBB and CEO Henrik Saxborn at Castellum, but on December 7, a third Swedish real estate player, Balder, announced that they had bought up to a stake of five percent ownership.
On Thursday, Balder passed a 15 percent stake. CEO and principal shareholder Erik Selin at Balder has made it clear that he is not looking for the entire company.
– What did you think when Balder bought up to a 15 percent blocking stake?
– I think we see the same with different possibilities. I think it’s that simple. It’s nothing dramatic, Saxborn says.
It is not known how much Balder paid per share, but the share price in Entra has been close to NOK 180 during the period the Swedish company acquired. If Balder had accepted the first offer from SBB or Castellum, they would most likely have been sold at a loss.
If Balder accepts Castellum’s new offer, he will win, as long as the share price in Castellum does not drop.
– The offer means that Balder may end up with a stake in Castellum’s shares. Do you think Erik Selin accepts this?
– You can ask Erik about that. Get to thinking if this is an opportunity you want to be a part of, Saxborn says.
“Because I was stupid”
It has been speculated that Selin acquired Entra to prevent its competitor Batljan from becoming Sweden’s largest real estate player. Selin rejected this in an interview with Dagens Industri on Thursday. When asked by the newspaper why he did not buy Entra shares before the bidding match, when the share price was much lower, he replied:
– Because I was stupid, he said and continued:
– It is the same that you can ask why I started buying shares when I was 14 years old. It was because I wasn’t smart enough to start when I was ten.
DN spoke early Friday with analyst Albin Sandberg at Kepler Cheuvreux. He thought that neither Castellum nor SBB would bid high enough to secure the company.
– There is a limit to the amount they can bid. In that case, it must be that Entra is important as a “trophy asset”. I think they would rather look at other possibilities, Sandberg said of the possibilities of a new offer from Castellum.
When asked if Castellum’s latest offer is more expensive than he had imagined, Saxborn responds.
– This is a balanced price for shareholders. I think the most important thing is that we really want to achieve a merger. We have been joking and calling it marriage, but this is serious. We do not seek short-term gains.
Don’t believe in blocking
Manager Thomas Nielsen heads the First Nordic Real Estate fund. You have invested in Balder. DN spoke to him about the courier match early Friday. Then he thought Selin didn’t want to block competition, but he saw good investment opportunities in Balder.
– I trust that Erik Selin continues to be as good at trading as he has shown before. I think you have a good plan and a good starting point.
– What do you think this plan is?
– You’ve probably said you want them to continue to trade well and be on the stock market, or have someone else bid higher and that will be a good profit, Nielsen said.(Terms)Copyright Dagens Næringsliv AS and / or our suppliers. We would like you to share our cases via a link, which leads directly to our pages. Copying or other use of all or part of the content can only be done with written permission or as permitted by law. For more terms, see here.
