GERMANY - JC Flowers files lawsuit against HRE following squeeze-out

The filing, which reportedly follows similar action taken by fellow shareholders, was confirmed in a statement from the private equity house, which condemned the "violation of constitutionally protected ownership rights and result in the expropriation of shareholders".

JC Flowers also confirmed that it has made a formal complaint to the European Union.

The ailing real-estate lender is 90% owned by government fund Soffin, which pushed through the squeeze-out at the lender's last general meeting on 5 October. The squeeze-out would still see minority shareholders receive EUR 1.30 per Hypo Real Estate share.

The German government has repeatedly stated that the system-critical bank would have collapsed if not for EUR 100bn in state guarantees. The lender is said to require further state aid, which Germany will only grant if it owns 100% of the bank.

In April 2008, JC Flowers led a consortium including Grove International Partners and Shinsei Bank to acquire a close to 25% stake in HPE for an estimated EUR 1.1bn. The all-cash transaction equated to a per share price of EUR 22.50, a premium of more than 25% on the average price over the previous three months.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Send to  

• Topics
• Industry
• DACH