Fortress Real Estate Investments said Friday it had acquired an additional 13.9 million NEPI Rockcastle shares for R1.9 billion through its participation in the bookbuild of the owner of 59 shopping centres in Central and Eastern Europe.
NEPI Rockcastle, which is listed on the JSE and in Amsterdam, announced last week that it planned a capital raise of about €300 million (R5.72bn) through an accelerated book building process.
The new NEPI Rockcastle shares to be issued pursuant to the bookbuild were placed at a price of R137.85 per NEPI Rockcastle share.
JSE-listed Fortress said it would buy the additional shares to maintain at least its current shareholding in NEPI Rockcastle. Following the acquisition, Fortress would hold 121.88 million NEPI Rockcastle shares, representing 17.11% of its shares in issue.
The acquisition of the shares will be funded by additional Euro debt drawn against the security provided by the previously announced collar at competitive interest rates.
The net asset value and taxed profits attributable to 100% of NEPI Rockcastle were €4.4bn and €300m respectively, according to its financial statements for the six months ended June 30, 2024.
Fortress’ share price nudged up 0.15% to R20.21 on Friday afternoon, well up from R5.91 a year ago.
NEPI Rockastle’s share price fell 1.89% to R141.40 at the same time, on the JSE. Its share price did not increase by as much as Fortress’ over a year, but it had nevertheless gained 39.22%.
BUSINESS REPORT