Barings Bids for Ireland's Largest Apartment Owner, Ires Reit

Barings, an asset manager known for its resilience and discipline in alternative investments, has set its sights on Ires Reit, Ireland's largest apartment owner with over 3,600 rental units. The Dublin-listed real-estate investment trust (Reit) said it received an offer of €1.386-a-share from Barings, valuing the deal at almost €1.27 billion. This would give Ires an equity value of €726.9 million and a 31% premium to its closing price last Friday.

Barings is being advised by Bank of America and property services firm Cushman & Wakefield. The key attraction for Barings is the reform of rental rules in March that allows landlords to reset leases at market rates once a tenant moves on, with some 14% of Ires's properties turning over last year.

Ires estimates that rental income from its properties remains 20% below market rents, which could increase as rent resets kick in. The company saw initial benefits from the changes in March, but its valuation has been affected by interest rate hikes, with the European Central Bank (ECB) raising its key rates by a total of 0.5 percentage points since June.