ACTIONS CORNER
TUI AG: Scrubbing the Deck
As of now, nobody knows if business conditions in the tourist industry will ever reach the level before COVID. In such an environment it is not a mistake to systematically strengthen your own position, which seems to be the strategy of TUI. The capital increase implemented in October is an important building block on this path.
The company decided to launch a fully underwritten capital increase with subscription rights to raise gross proceeds of approx. 1.1 bn EUR. Accordingly, the offer comprised 523,520,778 new shares at a subscription ratio of 10:21, issued at a subscription price of 2.15 EUR per new share. The subscription period ended on October 26th.
The company went ahead cautiously with this measure. TUI's largest shareholder, Unifirm Limited, with a 32.0% holding in the company, undertook to exercise all subscription rights attributable to its shareholding. The rest of the capital increase was secured through an underwriting by a banking syndicate.
The net proceeds of the offering are supposed to reduce the net debt position. In a troubled market environment with numerous imponderables, this is obviously a sensible approach, which is why shareholders exercised neraly all subscription rights.
TLG IMMOBILIEN AG: Another One bites the Dust
It's been twenty years since the Treuhandanstalt founded TLG. The company has since shown a successful development, including a successful IPO in 2014. But the stock exchange listing will probably soon become history, since TLG´s management board in consultation with Aroundtown SA, which holds approx. 79.89% of the shares of the company, has resolved to delist the shares for trading in the Regulated Market of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange following the publication of a public delisting offer by Aroundtown. To this end, TLG concluded a delisting agreement with Aroundtown, which has committed itself to making a public tender offer to the TLG shareholders to buy their shares at a price of 31.67 per TLG share.
Basically, this sounds like standard business. But there is one surprising part to it. To allow shareholders to sell their shares to the company ahead of the completion of the delisting offer, the management board of TLG considers buying back TLG shares by way of a public share buyback offer. Ups, let us keep our fingers crossed that Aroundtown won't use this opportunity.