Aedifica, Cofinimmo agree to merge to become Europe's largest real estate trust

Belgian healthcare real estate company Aedifica AED has agreed to merge with real estate investment trust Cofinimmo COFB, the companies said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

The combined group will have a gross asset value of 12.1 billion euros ($13.8 billion), making it the largest real estate investment trust (REIT) in Europe and the fourth largest in the world, they said.

Shareholders of both companies are expected to benefit from operational synergies of around 16 million euros, and their EPRA earnings per share are expected to be accretive for all shareholders, they added.

"Complementary geographic footprints, aligned strategic focus on healthcare, and comparable portfolio sizes, earnings profiles, and capital structures will provide a strong foundation for value creation," the companies said.

Aedifica has launched an exchange offer at an exchange ratio of 1.185 new Aedifica shares for each Cofinimmo share.

It had previously launched a takeover bid in May, offering 1.16 of its shares for each share received, which it said implied a more than 20% premium to Cofinimmo's stock price.

The companies' boards unanimously support the tie-up and said Cofinimmo chair Jean Hilgers would succeed Aedifica's Serge Wibaut as the group's chairperson upon its completion.

The proposed exchange offer is expected to open for acceptance on or about September 1, and the combined group will retain a primary listing on Euronext Brussels and be included in Belgium's blue chip index (.BFX).

Shares of Cofinimmo gained 3% in early trading in Brussels while those of Aedifica rose 0.5%.

($1 = 0.8754 euros)