The boards of Unite Students and Empiric Student Property have reached agreement on a recommended cash and share offer that will see Unite acquire the entire issued and to be issued ordinary share capital of Empiric in a circa £723m deal.
The acquisition would create a £10.5bn student portfolio that provides circa 75,000 beds, 92% are located in Russell Group cities.
The directors of Empiric said they intended to unanimously recommend that shareholders vote in favour of the offer, which would deliver cost synergies of £13.7m and result in earnings and dividend accretion for both sets of shareholders.
Richard Huntingford, chair of Unite, said: “Acquiring Empiric’s high quality and complementary portfolio accelerates our growth into the attractive returner student segment, enabling us to better serve students throughout their academic journey.
“Unite is uniquely positioned to unlock significant synergies and accelerate earnings growth for both sets of shareholders. Alongside university partnerships and our significant development pipeline, the acquisition provides a new growth driver to deliver enhanced scale and long-term value for shareholders.”
