Marriot, the manager of listed property funds SA Retail Properties and Martprop, is getting desperate in its efforts to stop listed property loan-stock house Hyprop Investments from taking over SA Retail.
Hyprop has put in an attractive offer to SA Retail unitholders to acquire all the issued units, and most SA Retail unitholders seem to want to take up the offer.
Durban-based Marriott has waged a media campaign over the past few weeks, using press statements and paid advertisements to persuade Hyprop unitholders to stop Hyprop’s takeover bid. Although the statements and ads also warn SA Retail unitholders that their investments will be diluted if they it accept the Hyprop offer, they are highly unusual in that they target Hyprop’s unitholders.
One of the arguments Marriott uses to try to persuade Hyprop unitholders to stop the takeover is the claim that Hyprop unitholders will pay double management fees if Hyprop manages to obtain a large chunk of SA Retail units, but fails to gain complete control.
Hyprop has denied that there will be double fees.
One analyst said recently that it was highly unusual for a threatened, listed fund or its managers to try and find allies among its rival’s unitholders.
It appears Marriott is making a last-ditch effort to prevent what some say is inevitable.
Perhaps it is time the group threw in the towel.