HBC should accept unsolicited $4.5B offer for German real estate: investor
TORONTO — An activist investor wants Hudson’s Bay Co. to “seriously consider” a bid it values at $4.49 billion for the Canadian retailer’s German department store chain and other real estate assets — at a value about 40 per cent higher than its original purchase price.
The unsolicited offer from European retail competitor Signa Holding for the Galeria Kaufhof chain and other properties is above HBC’s 2015 $3.2 billion purchase price and stated net asset value, Land & Buildings Investment Management said in a letter sent to shareholders Wednesday.
“Selling properties at or above the company’s stated (net asset value) is likely the optimal and lowest cost option for raising capital — and further underscores the real estate value of the company,” the letter reads.
Hudson’s Bay, which has not expressed interest in selling its German business, confirmed the unsolicited offer on Wednesday after trading of its shares (TSX:HBC) was temporarily suspended on the Toronto Stock Exchange.