By Alexander Hübner and Emma-Victoria Farr
FRANKFURT (Reuters) -Nuernberger Beteiligungs AG should consider rival takeover offers, activist investor 7Square wrote in a letter to the German insurer’s board on Tuesday, stating that a potential bid by Vienna Insurance Group undervalues the business.
The life-insurance, property and casualty insurance divisions of Nuernberger have underperformed for years, 7Square, which holds an unspecified stake in Nuernberger, wrote in the letter seen by Reuters. Yet the group could be worth as much as 1.6 billion euros ($1.87 billion), it said.
Bloomberg reported on the letter earlier on Tuesday.
Nuernberger did not immediately reply to requests for comment on 7Square’s letter. Vienna Insurance Group declined to comment.
Shares of Nuernberger fell 0.7% in Frankfurt on Tuesday, giving it a market value of 700 million euros.
Vienna Insurance Group announced last week it was in exclusive due diligence for a potential takeover of a controlling stake in the German company, without specifying a possible price.
Nuernberger should end discussions with VIG and start a new sales process to explore strategic options, 7Square wrote in the letter.
A sale to the Viennese company would be “extremely disadvantageous and value-destroying for shareholders,” it added.
Nuernberger’s investors include Munich Re, Hannover Re, Swiss Re and Japan’s T&D Holdings.
“We have concrete knowledge of the interest of several strategic investors, who would be interested in acquiring the life-insurance division or the entire Nuernberger Group,” 7Square wrote in the letter.
7Square is also calling on Nuernberger to lift transfer restrictions on its shares, which requires the management board to approve significant stock transactions.
As Nuernberger shares are listed on Frankfurt’s over-the-counter ‘Scale’ segment, an acquirer of a majority stake would not be required to make a mandatory offer for the remaining shares, which 7Square said would permanently reduce the value for all shareholders.
7Square advises hedge funds and activist shareholders on publicly listed German companies, occasionally investing itself.
($1 = 0.8570 euros)
(Reporting by Alexander Huebner and Emma-Victoria Farr; Editing by Joe Bavier)
