Minerva hits back at rebel shareholder
PROPERTY FIRM Minerva yesterday published a hard-hitting rebuttal to South African entrepreneur Nathan Kirsh’s £84.5m takeover bid, urging its shareholders to reject the “woeful” offer.
Minerva chief executive Salmaan Hasan said the timing of the 50p per share bid from Kirsh’s vehicle KiFin, launched on 17 November was “opportunistic” and a “wholly inadequate” attempt to seize control at the expense of other investors after a long fight to keep Minerva afloat.
Kirsh already owns 29.94 per cent of the London office developer.
Defending the company, Hasan yesterday said Minerva’s property portfolio had been revalued by property consultant CBRE at around £1bn, up by £93m since the end of June.
This brings its net asset value (NAV) to 95p a share – 89 per cent above KiFin’s offer of 50p a share.
Minerva, which is advised by boutique firm Greenhill, also said that there was long term potential in the group’s recovery and that it had two of the most desired City buildings in one of the most constricted markets.
Minerva’s two landmark City developments – The Walbrook and St Botolphs – represent half the total office development pipeline set to complete in the financial district by the end of 2010.
Hasan said: “The Walbrook is the only new vacant office of over 300,000 sq ft which will be ready by 2010.” Minerva is yet to find a tenant for the office developments but said it was in early talks with a number of interested buyers.
Minerva said shareholders who accepted Kirsh’s offer would be “surrendering the upside potential” of Minerva just as the recovery gathered pace.
Kirsh was unavailable for comment.