Aveo supports Brookfield retirement living takeover bid
Canadian behemoth Brookfield has won a major foothold in Australia’s retirement living sector, with Aveo shareholders voting to approve its takeover scheme.
The move will see the company line up against Lendlease and Stockland at a time when some are reducing their exposure to the sector.
The takeover also brings to a close Aveo’s at-times controversial history, with the company hit by the residential property market downturn and concerns about its retirement living contracts.
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The board ran a long process to find a buyer and some investors objected to the discount to the company’s net tangible asset at which it sold.
It had surprised investors by unveiling a scheme of arrangement at about $2.15 a share, a 43% discount to its then net tangible backing of $3.83 a share.
Billionaire investor Alex Waislitz questioned whether the board believed the valuations ascribed to the company’s assets after it agreed to back the Brookfield bid.
He had dubbed the bid “highly opportunistic” and was “quite shocked” the company’s independent directors and other investors, which included Malaysian investor Mulpha, which owned 24.4% of the company, supported the deal.
The takeover scheme attracted a protest vote of about 8%.
This article originally appeared on www.theaustralian.com.au/property.
