PRS REIT (PRSR) has finalised its takeover by Waypoint Asset Management on behalf of four UK local authority pension schemes.
Shares in the family rental home provider jumped 2.7%, or 3p, to 114.4p this afternoon as the real estate investment trust announced it had secured essentially the same terms outlined by the two sides seven weeks ago, adjusted for changes in the company’s net cash position.
Shareholders in PRS will receive £628.9m cash, equivalent to 114.9p per share, plus a 1.1p per share dividend to bring the total to 116p.
The 114.9p per share price represents 27.4% more than the 90.1p weighted average in the six months before a strategic review was announced on 22 October last year, leading to the company’s sale.
However, it is a cut-price deal that activists Robert Naylor and Chris Mills have overseen since joining the board in 2024, priced 19.7% below the company’s net asset value of 143p per share.
The steep discount reflects the fact that Waypoint was the only bidder left following the earlier withdrawals of Long Harbour and KKR from the bidding process.
If at least 75% of shareholder votes approve the deal at a general meeting in London on 27 November, the company will likely be liquidated in December.
The PRS board directors are unanimously recommending shareholders support the bid and intend to vote their 1.1% of shares in favour.
