Europe-focused private equity firm Kildare Partners has secured over 92% of the share capital of Technopolis after launching a cash offer of €4.65 a share for the Finnish office property specialist last month.
The takeover bid, which was made by the group's European Partners II fund, valued Technopolis' equity at €730 mln and was supported both by management as well as by Technopolis' two largest shareholders representing over 34% of the group's share capital, Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Company and Mercator Capital.
The offer price represented a 13.7% premium to the closing price of €4.09 on the day prior to the announcement, and a 19.5% premium to the company's volume-weighted 3-month average trading price of €3.89. The bid was conditional upon tendering at least 90% of the company's stock.
Technopolis owns a portfolio last valued at €1.57 bn, exclusively focused on office campuses and business parks. The properties covering over 700,000 m2 are largely located in Finland with a minority in other Scandinavian countries and the Baltics.
The operation represents Kildare's first foray into the Finnish property market. It is expected to provide a platform for Technopolis to deliver on the next stage of its development leveraging Kildare Partners’ pan-European reach, said Jay McLennan, president of Kildare Partners. 'We believe that Technopolis’ business model can be accelerated and expanded internationally with the appropriate support.'
McLennan sees the transaction as an opportunity to expand in the Nordic and Baltic Sea regions. 'The offer will represent a major step for Kildare Partners in building a footprint in the region, together with continued expansion into prime, dynamic office solutions,' he said recently.
Kildare plans to take full control of the group and de-list its shares from the Nasdaq Helsinki stock exchance as soon as 'practicable' in order to merge the business with its European platform.
Founded in 2013, Kildare Partners has raised over €3.5 bn of discretionary, equity capital commitments from an institutional group of investors which includes pension funds, endowment funds and sovereign wealth funds. The firm is active in the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, Sweden, Norway, France, Portugal and Belgium.