German real estate lender Aareal Bank has confirmed that it is in talks with a group of investors led by private equity firms Centerbridge Partners and TowerBrook to divest majority stake.
The consortium, which also includes private equity company Advent, has offered a price of €29 per share.
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The offer price represents a premium of approximately 35% over the volume-weighted average Aareal Bank share price during the last three months.
As per Bloomberg’s report, the acquisition could take Aareal Bank’s valuation to €1.7bn ($2bn).
Aareal Bank stated that investors are currently being apprised about its business and it is uncertain if the deal will materialise.
The lender is reportedly under pressure from activist investor Teleios Capital and Petrus Advisers.
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By GlobalDataAs per the report, Petrus is pushing Aareal Bank to divest its entire stake in its software arm, Aareon, citing high cost and lack of a sustainable strategy.
Complying with demands, the lender sold a 30% stake in Aareon for €260m to Advent last year.
At the end of 2020, Aareal Bank’s real estate loan portfolio stood at €27.9bn, which makes it a prime target for PE firms willing to explore the property market.
Last month, online lender N26 revealed that BaFin had imposed a fine of approximately $5m for delayed reports of activities related to anti-money laundering (AML).
