FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Bidders for Germany's Aareal Bank on Tuesday lowered the threshold for acceptance of their offer, giving investors a further two weeks to decide as the suitors try to overcome opposition to the proposed $1.9 billion takeover.
By Monday evening fewer than 5% of investors had accepted the offer, far short of the 70% the consortium was seeking ahead of a Wednesday deadline.
The buyout group, which includes United States-based Advent International and Centerbridge Partners, is now seeking 60% acceptance by Feb. 2.
The bidders have offered 29 euros a share, valuing the German real estate lender at 1.7 billion euros ($1.93 billion).
Management supports the deal but big investors, including Petrus Advisers and Teleios, are unhappy with the price.
($1 = 0.8807 euros)