DGAP-Ad-hoc: Noratis AG / Key word(s): Investment/Corporate Action
Noratis AG: Merz Real Estate becomes new major shareholder - Capital increase planned

20-March-2020 / 12:19 CET/CEST
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The Management Board and the Supervisory Board of Noratis AG welcome the readiness of Merz to invest. This allows for a significant enlargement of the real estate portfolio, a higher stability of the development of earnings and the leveraging of incremental earnings potentials. Noratis AG would, for instance, be able to optimise at the sale from a larger portfolio the timing of the sales of individual properties and keep properties, which generate good rental yield in the portfolio and benefit from their rent surpluses. In future, rental income is hence to account for an even larger share in the sales revenues. During the past fiscal year 2019 it amounted to around 17 percent. The sale of optimised properties would, however, continue to be the most important source of revenues and earnings of Noratis AG. With Merz Real Estate as a major shareholder at its side the growth steps planned by the Management Board can be implemented more rapidly and the resulting earnings potentials can be leveraged.

Igor Christian Bugarski, CEO of Noratis AG: 'We are pleased to have with the Merz Family a strong investor at our side which sustainably supports our successful strategy as portfolio developer and appreciates our long-standing experience. With our positioning we occupy a niche with an attractive risk-yield profile, which is to combine the safety of a portfolio manager with the excess return of a project developer. I am personally pleased to continue to contribute to this success story as CEO and shareholder. We want to transform the investment commitments agreed with Merz into a sustainable economic success for our company, its shareholders and stakeholders.'

Dr. Henning Schröer, Managing Director of Merz Real Estate GmbH & Co. KG: 'The business model of Noratis AG has convinced us. This includes the multi-stakeholder approach under which the interests of all parties involved are taken into account at the development of the company, from the tenant, through the financing partner to the shareholders. In this way sustainable values with an attractive yield are developed. We see our commitment to Noratis AG as a long-term investment.'

Dr. Florian Stetter, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of Noratis AG: 'We highly appreciate the fact that the Merz Family has been gained as a new core investor. We consider the investment as a clear strengthening for Noratis AG, which is excellently positioned und continues to have good perspectives.'

To ensure a better comparability of the corporate results with other real estate companies, Noratis AG currently prepares the conversion of its accounting from HGB (German GAAP) to IFRS. In this connection the company intends to disclose the market value development of the real estate portfolio, to make the development work in respect of the properties transparent.

About Noratis:

Noratis AG (www.noratis.de) is a leading portfolio developer of residential properties in Germany. The company identifies and realizes potentials for tenants, owner-occupiers & investors, thereby creating and preserving attractive and at the same time affordable living space throughout Germany. Noratis specializes in the upgrading of ageing residential portfolios, mostly company-owned apartments, residential areas or housing estates in cities with more than 10,000 inhabitants and in peripheral areas of conurbations. After a successful development, the properties remain in the company's portfolio or are sold in the medium term to investors and/or individually to existing tenants, capital investors and owner-occupiers. In this way, Noratis creates a noticeable and sustainable added value for all stakeholders: from investors, employees and financing partners to current and future tenants. Noratis AG is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.

About the Merz Group:

Merz Real Estate GmbH & Co. KG, with registered office in Frankfurt am Main, is part of the family-owned Merz Group. The main activities of the Merz Group include the globally operating Healthcare company with the businesses Merz Aesthetics, Merz Therapeutics and Merz Consumer Care with the brands tetesept and Merz Spezial. Moreover, the Merz Group engages in entrepreneurial activities in other fields, including the real estate sector.

Investor & Public Relations Contact:

edicto GmbH
Axel Mühlhaus / Dr. Sönke Knop
T +49 (0)69 905 505 52
E [email protected]
Eschersheimer Landstraße 42
60322 Frankfurt am Main
Germany

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