Immobilien: Goldman Sachs legt überraschend große Position bei LEG offen

Goldman Sachs, the US investment bank, has unexpectedly disclosed a significant stake in the German property company LEG Immobilien. This move came just a week after the property firm Grand City Properties (GCP) entered the second-largest German landlord, LEG Immobilien. According to a shareholder rights notice published on Tuesday, the bank holds shares and financial instruments worth 28.28% of LEG's voting rights. Previously, the disclosed total position was only 4.54%.

An LEG spokesperson declined to comment on the bank's actions, as did Goldman Sachs when asked for a response. GCP was initially unresponsive to requests for comment. However, financial sources suggest that Goldman Sachs purchased the shares through its trading activities on behalf of its clients. Just a week ago, the Luxembourg subsidiary of GCP announced it held 20.04% of LEG's shares, representing a portfolio valued at over €700 million.

Experts speculate that Goldman Sachs is supporting GCP in its investment in LEG, acting as a financial intermediary. Financial sources indicate that Goldman Sachs did not accumulate the position for itself but on behalf of its clients. However, the majority of the position is not directly held in shares; it mainly consists of financial instruments such as redemption rights, usage rights, options, and swaps.

The largest single position consists of call options covering 11.6 million LEG shares, accounting for 15.09% of the company's capital and expiring on November 19, 2026. Additionally, there are redemption rights on approximately 7.4 million shares or 9.67% of voting rights. The disclosure threshold was already surpassed on October 20th.

The situation echoes the contentious takeover attempt by Italian giant Unicredit at Germany's Commerzbank, where Unicredit also used services from other banks, including Japan's Nomura, which recently received a fine from the Financial Supervision Agency for late disclosure of its Commerzbank shares. GCP had labeled its LEG shareholding as a financial stake but saw an increase to 29.9% as a possibility.

However, the company also reserves the right to reduce or completely withdraw its investment. It would need to make a mandatory offer to the remaining LEG shareholders if it reached 30%. GCP is currently known as a commercial real estate investor, with founder Yakir Gabay, the controversial Israeli investor, holding only 15% of the company's shares, with no operational influence.

It's not clear if Goldman Sachs' disclosed position is related to GCP's entry. The LEG, with around 170,000 apartments, is Germany's second-largest listed residential property company, focusing primarily in North Rhine-Westphalia. The Düsseldorf company stated it shared GCP and Aroundtown's belief that both the strategy and investment portfolio of LEG offer significant upside potential.