Deals
Vonovia Upends German Apartment Market With $23 Billion Deal
- Transaction ranks as year’s biggest European takeover
- Deal would combine Germany’s two largest residential landlords
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Germany’s apartment market is being upended after Vonovia SE agreed to acquire rival Deutsche Wohnen SE for about 19 billion euros ($23 billion) in a deal that risks further stoking tensions over affordable housing.
The year’s biggest takeover in Europe and the biggest-ever in the region’s real estate sector would combine the country’s two largest residential landlords into an entity that controls more than 500,000 apartments. The transaction would further consolidate the power of large property owners, an issue that has inflamed activists especially in Berlin.