Cominar unit holders voted Tuesday in favor of buying a Quebec-led consortium of Quebec real estate investment funds.
The transaction was approved at a special meeting that lasted only twenty minutes.
Cominar announced a deal with a consortium led by Condrell on October 24 to sell it for $ 11.75 per unit, with a transaction worth $ 5.7 billion, including debt.
As part of this transaction, Group Mac must buy specific commercial and office buildings, while American investment firm Blackstone must repurchase 190 industrial buildings.
Although institutional investor Letco Brosso has publicly opposed the deal in recent weeks, two major voting advisory bodies, the ISS and Glass Lewis, have recommended support for the proposed deal.
The formation with the Condrell-led consortium came at the end of a strategic review process that lasted more than 13 months, especially due to financial difficulties at the Cominar and additional uncertainty surrounding epidemic activity.
Cominar’s management explained that the strategic review was primarily motivated by “structural challenges” that exacerbated the epidemic.
Unitholders have been warned that there will be “significant” problems in maintaining a listing on the stock exchange.
So it may be necessary to “better calibrate” credit levels and improve flexibility to ensure the continuity of operations as a public company, which could lead to a “significant” dilution of debt. Unit holders.
During the review process, Cominar’s advisers officially stated that 33 parties (including 25 financial investors and 8 strategic investors) were interested in all or parts of the business. Seven financial investors and three strategic individuals signed confidentiality agreements for due diligence.
Claiming to have a 3.3% stake in Cominar, Letko Brosseau said it was not the right time to sell the company, especially in 2020 and 2021 as Cominar was emerging from an epidemic that led to prolonged closures of shopping centers and offices. .
Cominer has 310 industrial, commercial and office buildings in Quebec and Ontario.
Cominar sales are undoubtedly the most important commercial real estate transaction of the year in Quebec and perhaps the most important in the province.
Cominar’s real estate portfolio includes properties such as the Gare Central de Montreal in Brosjard, the Mail Champlain, the Place Longueil, the Centropolis, the Laval, the Complex Jules-Dailer and the Place de la Cite in Quebec.
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