Belgian REIT/SICAFI Befimmo has begun a campaign to buy back up to €4.5m of its own shares.
The buyback programme has been launched in response to a significant decline in the company’s share prices resulting from the current economic climate. “It reflects Befimmo’s confidence in its strategy and the fact that the share price is particularly low in relation to the net asset value,” the company said in a statement.
Befimmo, which invests mostly in office buildings in city centres, notably Brussels, has a portfolio of about 100 office buildings. The fair value of the portfolio was assessed at €1.97bn as at 31 March 2012 when the company’s NAV per share was €57.21 per share. Befimmo shares, which are traded on Euronext Brussels, have traded below €45 per share for most of May.
Befimmo, which obtained authorisation for the buy-back at its June 2011 EGM, will run the programme from today (21 May) until 20 August.
The company is prohibited from buying at a price less than 85% or more than 115% of the closing price the day before the date of the transaction.
