Cerberus agrees to buy Optimum RE Spain

Photo of Barcelona’s Calle Princesa where the REIT owns nº19.

Ceberus has reached an agreement to buy a 92.88% stake of Spanish REIT Optimum RE Spain SOCIMI, S.A.

The New York based fund has offered €14.05 per share for the Catalonia-based listed fund which has a portfolio of 16 income-producing residential buildings in Barcelona on streets such as Gran Via, Casanova or Consell de Cent as well as a property on Madrid’s San Bernardino street. The shares currently trade at €13.3 as at market close on the 19th of August.

The agreement includes a partially deferred payment by which the US fund has an irrevocable commitment to purchase an additional 7.12% of the REIT resulting in a maximum price of €70.25 million for 100% of the Spanish listed vehicle. The deal was signed last Monday through Ceberus’ Irish SPV «Promontoria Bravo Designated Activity Company«.

The board of directors of the Spanish REIT has stated that the prices offered by the fund «may be attractive», although, in this regard, they represent a discount of 8.11% to the value of the company’s net assets per share (NAV per share), which rises to 13.14% in the case of the deferred payment.

Cerberus sees the acquisition as «an opportunity to strengthen its portfolio in Spain, specifically, in the rented residential sector.» In fact, Cerberus had already presented a non-binding offer for the SOCIMI in June on very similar terms.

The largest shareholder of the SOCIMI is Marc Sabé with a 14% stake; followed by BMB Cap with 7.12% and Antonio Gallardo Torrededía with 2%. The vendors hired Arcano and BMB Cap to run the sale process.