NPT has gone on the offensive in trying to undermine opposition to a proposed deal with Kiwi Property Group by its biggest shareholder, Salt Funds Management.
NPT shareholders will this month vote on a deal to buy two buildings from Kiwi Property for $230 million (£184 million), raising $93.9 million (£75 million) to partially fund the deal and issuing shares, giving Kiwi Property a 19.99 per cent stake at 61 cents apiece. The larger property investor would also buy NPT’s management contract for $6 million (£4 million).
Salt Funds principal Matthew Goodson has come out opposing the deal, calling it an “unacceptable transfer of value from NPT shareholders to KPG”, of which the fund manager also holds a stake. At issue is the changing market conditions that have seen NPT’s decline in share price since the deal first emerged in December, while the price being paid for the Wellington properties has stayed the same.
