Aires REIT announced Friday that Caprito, the real estate group's founder and largest shareholder, is partnering with fellow activist Canadian investors who plan to stage a coup on the board and sell or dissolve the company within two years. I tried to downplay the attempt. .
Caprito's chief executive Mark Kenny told the Business Post late on Thursday that the company, which owns 18.7% of Aires, will pass a resolution at next month's extraordinary general meeting (EGM) paving the way for the sale. He said he plans to vote with Capital. or dissolution of the business. He also said Caprito will vote in favor of a resolution to replace the five existing directors with candidates proposed by Vision Capital.
“Capri has previously indicated its desire to withdraw from Europe and focus on the Canadian market,” an Aires spokesperson said. “The board recognizes that all shareholders vote in line with their requirements. However, the board's role is to represent the interests of all shareholders. We unanimously believe that a review is in the best interests of all shareholders and reaffirm that we encourage shareholders to vote against all of Vision's proposals.”
[ Ires rebuts activist investor’s claims board cannot be trusted with review ]
Still, the Kaprit declaration represents a significant setback for Aires, which is trying to rally investors behind plans for its current board to lead a broad strategic review. Mr Ailes said earlier this week he “strongly refuted” claims by Vision, which has been campaigning against the board since April last year, that the existing board cannot be trusted to lead a strategic review of the business. Announced. Vision owns approximately 5% of Aires shares.
“You can feel the wind is blowing very firmly in this direction, but Mr. Caprito's public declaration of support for the entire Vision proposal is , represents a key moment in this debacle.”
“The threshold required to obtain shareholder approval to proceed with a defined asset disposal strategy is 75 percent of the votes cast (compared to the threshold required to effectuate a director change of 50 percent). , it is not very clear at this point whether that is realistically achievable.”
Cronin said he would be open to next steps if Vision's candidate directors, if elected to the board, “will be given access to company materials necessary to more fully inform our assessment of the best course of action.” He said it is possible.
“But one thing is undeniable: this team of nominee directors is relentless in their efforts to operate efficiently and crystallize the greatest value possible for the entire shareholder base. “Some might say it looks like it's differentiated according to status,” he said.
Aires, which owns 3,734 apartments and homes, announced earlier this month that it plans to begin a strategic review in late February after reporting its full-year results, in a bid to avoid an attempted review by its board of directors. This includes consideration of potential mergers, the company's status as a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT), and divestitures of the company or its assets.
