Oslo/Norway, 10 September 2007: Aberdeen Property Investors launches bid to acquire Norgani Hotels ASA and create an European hotel fund.
Aberdeen Property Investors is pleased to announce a voluntary cash offer (the “Offer”) by Aberdeen Bid Company AS (“Aberdeen”) in which the shareholders in Norgani Hotels ASA (“Norgani”) are offered a price of NOK 88,50 per share.
The Offer represents a premium of NOK 6 per share or about 7% over the competing bid from Norwegian Property ASA.
The Offer is supported and recommended by the Board of Directors and management of Norgani. The Board of Directors of Norgani will issue a separate statement on the Offer today.
The acquisition of Norgani will create the foundation for a new hotel property fund with strong ambitions for future growth.
“The acquisition of Norgani is a very attractive investment opportunity with a relatively high yield at a relatively low risk. The investment will give our existing funds a faster exposure and create possibilities for new products in our product range.”, says Per Samuelsen, director of investments for Aberdeen in Norway.
The Norgani management team will be the core of Aberdeen’s new dedicated hotel-team and will enable Aberdeen to seek out new investments in the hotel sector both in the Nordic countries and in Europe.
“Norgani has a professional specialist organization and a well respected management group which create value through close partnerships with the hotel operators. We are therefore pleased to have received support for our offer from both management and the board of Norgani”, says Espen Klevmark, CEO of Aberdeen Property Investors in Norway.
The Offer Period is expected to run from and including 11 September 2007 to 14 September 2007 at 16:30 hours (Norwegian time). The Offer Document will be distributed to the Norgani shareholders as soon as practically possible following approval by Oslo Børs, expected to be Tuesday, 11 September 2007. Settlement is expected to take place on or about 10 October, 2007.
The Offer is fully financed through new equity and debt facilities.
Completion of the Offer is subject to the satisfaction (if not waived in whole or in part by Aberdeen) of the same conditions as in the offer by Norwegian Property (however so that all corporate approvals have already been received), including inter alia that Aberdeen obtains acceptances of the Offer representing more than 90 % of the shares and votes in Norgani, the business of Norgani being operated in the ordinary course, absence of material adverse change and clearance from relevant competition authorities, as further described in the offer document.
In conjunction with the Offer, Aberdeen has entered into an agreement with Home Properties AB, a Swedish listed property company controlled by Petter Stordalen, whereby Home Properties AB has agreed to purchase six hotels from the Norgani portfolio post completion of the Offer.
First Securities acts as financial advisor, and Schjødt acts as legal advisor, to Aberdeen in connection with the Offer.
For further information, please contact:
Espen Klevmark, CEO, Aberdeen Property Investors Norway
Tel: +47 900 23 111
Rickard Backlund, CEO, Aberdeen Property Investors Group
Tel: +46 8 412 80 00
About Aberdeen Property Investors
Aberdeen Property Investors is the specialist property division of Aberdeen Asset Management plc, a global investment management group listed on the London Stock Exchange and managing over EUR 130 billion of assets and a market cap of approximately GBP 1.1 billion.
Aberdeen Property Investors manages €11 billion in investments through property funds and management mandates on behalf of its institutional client base. Aberdeen Property Investors has some 500 employees at offices in ten European countries.
Aberdeen was named the leading Property Investment Manager Globally, in Western Europe and in the Nordic & Baltic regions in the Euromoney Awards both 2005 and 2006 for Excellence in Real Estate.