Bouwfonds Property Development has taken over fellow Dutch developer MAB. Bouwfonds’ parent company, ABN Amro Bouwfonds Nederlandse Gemeenten, agreed to buy all outstanding MAB shares from owner Hofima. No financial details were disclosed.
“The joining of forces fits perfectly with Bouwfonds’ strategy and strengthens its position in commercial real estate and retail in particular,” said Bouwfonds chairman Henk Rutgers.
The merged company will initially focus on France, the Netherlands and Germany. The two companies developed 7,000 houses and 200,000m2 of commercial property in the Netherlands last year.
MAB chief executive Ton Meijer will step down and assume the role of adviser. The deal does not include existing joint-venture projects between MAB and Bouwfonds Property Finance. MAB Shopping Centre Management, MAB Investment and the UK-based MAB development company will continue their activities as units of Hofima.
Bouwfonds and MAB aim to complete the companies’ integration by January 2005. No redundancies are expected, Bouwfonds said. MAB was advised by JPMorgan.
In a separate deal, Bouwfonds Property Finance has agreed to buy the €1bn commercial property loan book of Dutch bank Staalbankiers, and will also take on Staalbankiers’ property lending staff. The bank intends to focus on private banking. The deal is expected to be completed in the third quarter of this year. Both deals await the approval of the relevant anti-trust authorities.
