euro adhoc: Meinl European Land Ltd.
Management Changes
Atrium European Real
Estate Limited
("Atrium" or the "Company")
INVESTMENT AND RESTRUCTURING TRANSACTION COMPLETES
Disclosure announcement transmitted by euro adhoc. The issuer is responsible for the content of this announcement.
Company Information
01.08.2008
St Helier, Jersey, 1 August 2008: Atrium European Real Estate Limited
(VSX: MEL), a leading Central and Eastern European real estate
business focussed on shopping centre investment, management and
development and which, until today, was known as Meinl European Land
Limited, announces that the transaction relating to the investment in
the Company by CPI/Gazit Holdings Limited ("CPI/Gazit") completed
today.The completion of the transaction (the full details of which were provided in a circular to shareholders on 24 June, 2008, and which was approved by a majority of shareholders at the Company´s Extraordinary General Meeting on 16 July 2008) means that, effective today, the Company´s name has changed to Atrium European Real Estate Limited, a new board of directors has been appointed and an internal management structure has been adopted with Rachel Lavine as the newly appointed CEO. The existing arrangements with the Company´s manager, Meinl European Real Estate Limited, have all been terminated.
Atrium´s new board of directors now consists of Chaim Katzman, Michael Bar Haim, Joseph Azrack, Shanti Sen, Rachel Lavine, Peter Linneman, Thomas William Wernick, Simon Radford and Andrew Wignall. Following closing, the new board has approved the appointment of Chaim Katzman as Chairman of the Board and the appointment of Rachel Lavine as new Chief Executive Officer. Peter Bagueley will be appointed as a director of the Company upon receipt of Jersey regulatory approval and board approval. The new Board of Directors is committed to ensuring the Company´s corporate governance procedures are at international standards of best practice.
Under the terms of the transaction, CPI/Gazit has provided EUR500 million of new investment into Atrium, through the subscription for EUR500 million of convertible securities (out of a total of EUR580 million of convertible securities issued by Atrium today) and, in connection with a capital increase, will also underwrite a EUR300 million rights issue to Atrium certificate holders, which is expected to take place within 6 months of closing.
In addition, and effective today, Georg Kucian, Heinrich Schwägler and Karel Römer have resigned as directors of the Company and the Company´s 150,000,000 partly paid shares, as well as the 88,815,000 shares underlying the certificates held by Somal AVV have been cancelled.
Chaim Katzman, chairman of Atrium, said: "Almost a year´s work has gone into the completion of this transaction so I am immensely pleased to be able to make my first announcement as the Chairman of the newly named Atrium. We now want to look forward and focus on working with the existing high quality staff at Atrium and all of our partners to improving and developing the Company´s assets and implementing best in class corporate governance and management practice, in order to position Atrium as the leading property owner and developer in Central Eastern Europe."
Rachel Lavine, the new CEO of Atrium, said: "I have spent the past couple of months examining the Company´s assets and development pipeline and have been impressed with the quality of the portfolio. I am convinced that the additional funding invested in the Company along with the international real estate expertise of CPI/Gazit, our new investors, when combined with the Company´s strong existing team of asset managers and developers, provide us with a superb opportunity to position Atrium at the very forefront of the European real estate market. I look forward to leading the company to a new horizon and excited to get to work and create value to all of the shareholders."
For further information: London Austria
Financial Dynamics Dr. Viktor Bauer PR GmbH Stephanie Highett Dr Viktor Bauer Richard Sunderland Mag. Anita Köninger
Laurence Jones viktor.bauer@viktorbauer.com +44 (0)20 7831 3113 +43 (1) 320 95 45 18
Notes to editors:
About Atrium European Real Estate Limited Atrium is a real estate investment and development company whose primary focus is on retail assets in Central and Eastern Europe. At 31 December 2007 it had 162 operating investment properties with a market value of approximately EUR1.9 billion and a significant portfolio of development projects with an expected investment requirement of EUR3.3 billion, of which EUR0.8 billion had been spent by 31 December 2007. In addition, it has established a land bank of over 1.7 million sqm. The Company has been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since 2002 and at 31 July 2008 was capitalised at EUR1,354 million (based on a closing price per certificate of EUR6.41 and a number of certificates of 211,185,000 which excludes the 88,815,000 certificates held on behalf of the Company, the 150,000,000 ordinary shares paid up as to EUR0.01 each and the one share held by the investment manager of the Company).
About CPI/Gazit Holdings Limited CPI/Gazit is a joint venture between
Gazit-Globe Ltd ("Gazit"), a multinational real estate investment
company listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE:GLOB), and CPI
Austria Holdings Limited ("CPI Austria"), a wholly-owned subsidiary
of CPI Capital Partners Europe LP (and its parallel funds), a real
estate fund advised by Citibank International plc through its
business unit, Citi Property Investors.About Gazit-Globe Ltd Gazit is a leading multinational real estate investment company with in excess of EUR8 billion of properties under control in the United States, Canada, Europe, Israel and Brazil. Gazit and its public subsidiaries are corporate governance leaders in their markets and are governed by world class boards of directors. Gazit actively pursues growth opportunities, both organically and through strategic and accretive acquisitions.
About Citi Property Investors CPI is a global real estate investment manager with offices in major financial centers and with more than $12.9 billion in assets under management as of 1 February 2008. CPI employs more than 125 real estate professionals and its senior leaders have an average of more than 20 years of commercial real estate experience. CPI is the real estate investment center of Citi Alternative Investments which as of 31 December 2007 had EUR59.2 billion of un-levered assets under management.
end of announcement euro adhoc
Further inquiry note:
For further information:
London Austria
Financial Dynamics Dr. Viktor Bauer PR GmbH
Stephanie Highett Dr Viktor Bauer
Richard Sunderland Mag. Anita Köninger
Laurence Jones viktor.bauer@viktorbauer.com
+44 (0)20 7831 3113 +43 (1) 320 95 45 18
Branche: Real Estate
ISIN: AT0000660659
WKN: 066065
Index: Standard Market Continous
Börsen: Wiener Börse AG / official market