A few days before the meeting of Cominar unitholders scheduled for Tuesday, the consortium led by Canderel seems on track to carry out its plan and obtain the necessary support to buy the Quebec real estate investment trust.
Although an institutional investor publicly opposes the transaction, the two major voting advisory firms, ISS and Glass Lewis, recommend supporting the transaction presented this fall.
Largest shareholder of Cominar with a stake of around 10%, George Armoyan told Press this week he was “probably” going to vote for the proposed arrangement.
Cominar revealed on October 24 an agreement with a consortium led by Canderel surrounding its sale at a unit price of $ 11.75 per share, a transaction valued at 5.7 billion including debt.
As part of this transaction, Groupe Mach must acquire certain commercial and office buildings, while the American investment firm Blackstone must recover 190 industrial buildings.
A competing offer still possible?
After expressing his interest in Cominar last month, the president of Montreal real estate development agency Brasswater, Ian Quint, told Press Friday that the establishment of a competing offer was ultimately “impossible”. “Unfortunately, the insiders have enough support to get the proposed transaction accepted,” he says.
Asked last month about the preparation of a competing offer, Ian Quint – investment partner of Montreal entrepreneur David Baazov in the real estate sector – replied that he was evaluating “his options”.
At the beginning of November, a person associated with a Montreal real estate company working in particular with American investors interested in presenting a competing offer for Cominar had affirmed that the group with which she works was “ready to make an offer”, but that it would wait as late as possible to manifest.
Reached by phone this week, this person who cannot be named due to the confidential nature of the file simply said that the meeting was scheduled for Tuesday and hinted that it was not impossible for a development to occur early in the year. week.
Montreal asset manager Letko Brosseau, who says he holds a 3.3% stake in Cominar, has publicly opposed the transaction in recent weeks, stressing in particular that the timing seems ill-suited to sell the company since Cominar Barely emerging from the pandemic, which has resulted in lengthy shopping malls and office closures in 2020 and 2021.
The arrangement reached with the consortium led by Canderel came at the end of a strategic review process of more than 13 months launched due in particular to financial difficulties at Cominar and when the pandemic caused additional uncertainty surrounding the activities.
During the review process, Cominar’s advisers claim to have officially approached 33 parties (25 financial investors and 8 strategic investors) potentially interested in all or parts of the business. Seven financial investors and three strategic have signed confidentiality agreements allowing for due diligence, it is said.
Cominar owns 310 industrial, commercial and office buildings in Quebec and Ontario.