Germany landlord urges rival's investors to stop takeover

Berlin

DEUTSCHE Wohnen AG chief executive officer Michael Zahn plans to publish a personal appeal to Vonovia SE shareholders on Monday, urging them to vote against that company's planned takeover of Deutsche Wohnen and buy stock in his company instead.

The letter, a copy of which was obtained by Bloomberg News, is the latest attempt by Germany's second-biggest residential landlord to fend off a 9.9-billion euro (S$15 billion) bid by Vonovia, the industry leader. In the letter, Mr Zahn calls the deal "value destructive", and warns of a "long, drawn-out and potentially extremely expensive process" even if Vonovia investors allow the bid to proceed at their extraordinary shareholders meeting on Nov 30.