Berlin raises stake in Hypo Real Estate

Bloomberg

Investors offered the Soffin bank-rescue fund 32.3 percent of Hypo Real Estate as of 5:30 p.m. on Monday, ahead of the midnight expiry of the bid of 1.39 euros ($1.86) a share, the Frankfurt-based fund said yesterday in a statement. Soffin, which acquired an 8.65 percent stake in the lender in March, will publish the final acceptance level of its offer on May 7 as it tallies remaining shares.

Soffin aims to gain sufficient shares to push through a share sale of as much as 5.64 billion euros at an extraordinary general meeting on June 2. A stake of more than 50 percent would be the easiest way to ensure the approval of the capital increase, though a smaller stake could also be sufficient depending on the total attendance at the meeting.Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government is seeking control of Hypo after granting 102 billion euros of credit lines and debt guarantees to keep it from bankruptcy. J.C. Flowers & Co., which advises investors holding about 15 percent of Hypo, said last week that most of them won’t sell their stock to the government.