Apollo funds will receive a share of 5.5 pct. in Vítkov CPI for CZK 7.6 billion

Apollo real estate funds from the USA will acquire a share of approximately 5.5 percent in the real estate group CPI Property Group of the Czech billionaire Radovan Vítek for EUR 300 million (approximately CZK 7.6 billion). The entire CPI Property Group estimates the transaction at approximately EUR 5.455 billion (CZK 138.8 billion). Apollo Funds will receive a stake in the CPI through the subscription of new shares. Vítek himself will also take part in the registration, who will send another EUR 150 million to his group through him. After the completion of the transaction, Vítek will continue to have a majority stake in the group of almost 90 percent.

Vítek has already increased the capital of CPI Property Group in September this year, by EUR 100 million. In total, Vítek's real estate group will receive new cash of EUR 550 million (about CZK 14 billion) by the end of this year. "The proceeds from this transaction will be used for new acquisitions and debt reduction. We see an opportunity to further grow our portfolio while maintaining a conservative financial profile," CPI Property Group Chief Financial Officer David Greenbaum told the daily Hospodářské noviny. The group thus expects its asset-to-debt ratio to be below 40 percent by the end of this year.

After the transaction, Apollo funds will also receive one representative on the CPI Property Group's board of directors. In total, the group's board of directors will expand to eight people, four of whom are the company's CEOs. According to the daily Hospodářské noviny, real estate expert Tim Scoble will sit on behalf of Apollo on the board of CPI Property Group.

According to Forbes magazine, Vítek is the third richest Czech and one of the Czech dollar billionaires. The magazine estimates the value of its assets at a total of CZK 103 billion. CPI Property Group is headquartered in Luxembourg and its shares are traded on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and owns real estate in the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Slovakia, Croatia, Switzerland, France, Romania, Russia and Britain.

Source: Hospodářské noviny & CTK