Habas HZ Investments Ltd. (TASE: HABS) has invested €20 million to increase its holdings in Dutch REITs Nieuwe Steen Investments NV (NSI) (AEX:NISTI) and VastNed Offices/Industrials NV (AEX: VNOI). Habas made the investments though its subsidiary Habas Star BV, in which it owns a 74% stake.
The investment comes ahead of a NSI shareholders meeting to approve a merger of the two companies. It comes six months after they announced their merger. The joint company will own 300 properties worth €2.4 billion and it will have €200 million in annual revenue. Habas and NSI chairman Herzl Habas will be the chairman of the merged company.
Habas Star bought 696,001 NSI shares, 1.6% of the company, increasing its stake to 22.43%, making it the largest shareholder in the company. It bought 1,197,297 shares in Vastned Offices/Industrials, 6.3% of the company, and becoming a party at interest in the company. These holdings will give Habas Star a 17.9% stake in the merged Dutch REIT.
Habas added that it is finalizing an agreement with a banking syndicate for up to €15 million to finance the investment. The loan will bear 3.65% annual interest and the company will repay the loan in a single installment in July 2014.
Habas said that it is trying to buy more shares in both NSI and Vastned. In July, Habas Star CEO Amir Nitzani told "Globes" that the company would invest hundreds of millions of euros in real estate-debt deals
Habas CEO Ronen Ovadia said today, "The share purchases are part of our strategy to exploit excellent opportunities to increase our investment at low prices and high dividend yields. Increasing our position reflects more than anything else our strong confidence in the merged company led by NSI.
Habas operates in Europe and Israel, where it builds high-end residential projects such as the Yoo Towers in Park Hatzemeret in north Tel Aviv.
Habas's share price rose 0.1% by mid-afternoon on the TASE at NIS 6.14, giving a market cap of NIS 246 million. NSI's share price fell 3.2% on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange to €10.65, giving a market cap of €461 million, and Vastned's share price fell 1.6% to €9.40, giving a market cap of €177 million.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes-online.com - on October 4, 2011
© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. 2011