The Bochum-based company recently finalized the takeover of its competitor Deutsche Wohnen.
(Photo: dpa)
Munich After the short seller attack on the Adler Group, Germany’s largest housing group Vonovia apparently sees the opportunity to enter the smaller competitor. The major Luxembourg shareholder of Adler, Aggregate Holdings, announced on Thursday evening that Vonovia had acquired a purchase option on 13.3 percent of Adler’s shares.
That would be half the share that Aggregate had last reported. The price is “well above the last closing price of the Adler share”, it said in the message. The paper closed on Thursday with a plus of 15 percent at 11.55 euros.
Adler is currently under fire from British investor Fraser Perring. The shortseller had published a 61-page report on the website of its analysis company Viceroy Research on Wednesday. In it he accused the Adler group of fraud, manipulation and deception of their financiers. The share then fell by 30 percent at its peak.
According to Aggregate, the purchase option now acquired by Vonovia has a term of 18 months. It comprises around half of the block of shares that the real estate investor holds in the Adler Group. The Austrian investor Günther Walcher is behind Aggregate. Vonovia did not initially confirm the purchase option.
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Aggregate wants to “continue the development of the Adler Group” with Vonovia’s support, according to a press release. The deal demonstrates “the strength of the Adler Group and the experience of Aggregate”.
Unit owner Walcher also plays a role in Perring’s report. He is said to belong to the circle of “Family & Friends” around the entrepreneur Cevdet Caner, who is said to benefit from the Adler Group’s allegedly manipulated real estate valuations. Caner does not hold an official position at Adler, but Perring sees him as a kind of shadow CEO.
Adler rejects the allegations
Adler responded to the shortseller’s allegations with a short notice on Wednesday evening. “This report contains allegations that Adler strongly rejects,” it says. The dossier contained numerous “inaccurate allegations”.
Adler announced “a detailed reply” and that the group “wanted to comment on it as soon as possible”. But so far the company has not commented again. It left a list of questions from the Handelsblatt unanswered.
Aggregate informed the Handelsblatt that the major shareholder was “absolutely convinced of the value of his stake”. “The current share price does not reflect the intrinsic value in any way.” The Luxembourgers also let it be known that it was up to the Adler Group to comment on the report.
Caner and his lawyer Ben Irle rejected Perring’s allegations in full. The Austrian entrepreneur believes that Perring is not actually behind the attack, but rather the managing partner of a London investment company whose name is known to the Handelsblatt. He announced that he had no engagement or conversation with Viceroy.
Caner announced to the Handelsblatt that he would “strike back now”. He will take legal action against those responsible under supervisory, civil and criminal law – in Germany, Great Britain and the USA. He has already taken the first legal steps.
More: “Orchestrated attack”: Adler insider Caner suspects the shortseller’s intrigue – and wants to fight back