August 26 (SeeNews) - Bulgarian pharmaceuticals producer Sopharma [BUL:SFA] said on Friday that it has reached direct ownership of 35.48%, or some 7.79 million shares, in subsidiary Sopharma Properties REIT [BUL:SFI], after its buyout proposal expired.
The tender offer was accepted by 24 shareholders holding an aggregate of 469,480 target company shares.
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Sopharma previously owned 7.32 million shares in the property investment trust, representing a 33.34% stake, according to an earlier statement.
The drug maker first tabled an offer in June to acquire the remaining 66.66% stake it did not own in Sopharma Properties, seeking to acquire a total of 14.6 million shares at a price of 8.20 levs ($4.18/4.19 euro) apiece. The offer was then suspended by Bulgaria's financial regulator which asked for revisions in the financial justification of the tender offer, suggesting that the price per share in the bid may need to be recalculated.
Sopharma relaunched the amended offer in July but did not raise the initial price, arguing that the proposed price is higher than the estimated fair value of 6.23 levs per share.
Sopharma Properties REIT's main asset is the Sopharma Towers business complex in Sofia, which has an area of 24,440 square metres.
In May, Sopharma Properties REIT proposed to distribute a gross dividend of 0.166 levs per share for 2021, slightly higher than the dividend of 0.164 levs per share it paid out for 2020.
As at 1037 CEST, shares in Sopharma traded 1.81% higher at 4.50 levs while shares in Sopharma Properties gained 0.61% to 8.20 levs.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)