MAS owned Moldova Mall in Romania, which underwent a redevelopment last year.
Image: Supplied
PKMI, a PKM Development subsidiary, said there was strong participation in its bid to acquire shares in the R15 billion JSE-listed Eastern and Central Europe commercial and residential real estate company MAS, but the offers were not accepted.
At the close on Friday, PKMI stated that it reviewed all offers received and determined that the pricing of the offers was not sufficiently attractive. The high level of participation was indicated by the fact that offers representing more than twice the bid size of up to 30 million MAS shares were received.
Accordingly, PKMI elected not to proceed with any acquisitions under the bid. No clearing price had therefore been established, and no shares would be acquired pursuant to the bid.
“PKMI appreciates the strong participation in the bid and the interest shown by MAS shareholders. PKMI remains committed to a disciplined approach to capital allocation and will continue to pursue opportunities to create long-term value where pricing is compelling,” the company said.
PKMI had offered investors a quick route out of a stock with a reducing free float and thin everyday trading volumes. PKMI opened a bid to buy up to 30 million shares in MAS, the R15 billion Malta-based property group.
The move would have given shareholders who want to sell, in full or in part, a way to do so at a time when a limited free float makes it difficult to trade a meaningful number of shares on the open market.
PKMI and its interests already hold roughly 61% of MAS. Its stake would have risen to more than 65% if the bid had been taken up.
MAS recently announced an evolution in its strategy, signaling its intention to move away from its historic focus on real estate in Central and Eastern European markets towards a longer-term approach that is not tied to any single asset class or geography.
Recognising that this evolution may have meant that some shareholders’ original investment objectives no longer aligned with MAS's revised direction, PKMI's bid was viewed as a way for those shareholders to realise some or all of their investment should they wish.
MAS’s share price fell 2,7% to R22 per share on the JSE on Monday morning, a price slightly below the R23,12 it traded at a year before.
MAS has undergone significant change in its shareholder structure, governance, and strategic positioning since last August, when a voluntary offer by PKI Investments, which is also a joint venture development partner with MAS, resulted in it holding about 61% of MAS.
MAS's board has been reconstituted, and the balance sheet has been strengthened through the early repayment of a bond due in May 2026. MAS repurchased about 4,08% of its shares between October 14, 2025, and December 23, 2025, and PKI acquired an additional 65,4 million MAS shares.
Last year, certain MAS shareholders raised concerns regarding the governance of the development joint venture and MAS’s compliance with JSE listing requirements in relation to certain matters of the development joint venture.
However, the board said that South African legal counsel were “unequivocal”: approvals by MAS in its capacity as shareholder and the development joint venture on restricted matters requiring shareholder approval under the development joint venture agreement do not constitute an amendment to the development joint venture agreement, and they are also not a related party transaction under JSE listing requirements, MAS’s board said.
In May, JSE-listed retail real estate investment trust (Reit) Hyprop has announced the acquisition of Galleria Burgas, a regional shopping centre located on Bulgaria’s east coast, for €122.2 million, from MAS. Hyprop had also last year tried to acquire MAS.
Visit:www.businessreport.co.za