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Berlin's Governing Mayor Michael Müller (left) with CEOs Michael Zahn (right) and Rolf Buch (2nd from left)
Photo: Christoph Soeder / dpa
Vonovia and Deutsche Wohnen want to reassure alarmed politicians and tenants with an offer to the State of Berlin.
As part of their planned merger, the two real estate groups are offering the Berlin state government more than 20,000 apartments for sale.
The mayor Michael Müller (SPD) and Vonovia boss Rolf Buch announced this.
"That is the size of its own housing company," said Müller. Now it will be discussed in detail with all those involved which stocks are involved. "Social hot spots are close to my heart, large estates are close to my heart," said Müller. More housing in municipal hands means more influence on socially acceptable rents and more security for many people in the area of rent and living. With a corresponding agreement, the state of Berlin would have around 350,000 apartments at the end of the year and thus have a "real influence" on the housing market and on the rent index, said Müller.
The largest German real estate group Vonovia announced on Monday evening that it wanted to buy Deutsche Wohnen, the second in the industry, for 18 billion euros.
The merger is expected to reduce annual costs by 105 million euros.
It is in the interests of both the state and the real estate companies to ensure rent stability, said Müller.
The agreement on a maximum rent increase of one percent annually in the next three years and then only in the context of inflation adjustment until 2026 is "an important statement for Berliners and is also an important socio-political statement."
"Chances for a merger are not very high"
The economist Marcel Fratzscher, on the other hand, is very critical of the planned merger of Vonovia and Deutsche Wohnen. "A merger of the two largest private real estate groups in Germany is problematic, as there should be less competition and the market power of the new group will be even stronger," said the head of the Berlin-based German Institute for Economic Research (DIW). Both groups already have a considerable influence on the housing market in many regions, both on rental prices and on purchase prices. "I suspect that the Cartel Office will be similarly critical and therefore the chances of a merger are not very high," said Fratzscher.
Vonovia had already started a takeover attempt in 2016.
This failed, among other things, because of the resistance of Deutsche Wohnen's top management and too little interest on the part of the shareholders.
In Berlin in particular, the renewed attempt at the merger is being watched with suspicion.
The situation on the Berlin housing market is very tense.
The residential real estate groups have long been criticized for rising rents in the metropolitan areas.
Germany's largest apartment rental company Vonovia is hoping for a new start in the discussion about high rents and housing shortages with the multi-billion dollar takeover of competitor Deutsche Wohnen.
Read a double interview with Vonovia boss Rolf Buch and Deutsche Wohnen boss Michael Zahn about the planned merger here.
Tenants' Association warns of merger
The Berlin initiative "Expropriate Deutsche Wohnen und Co." announced that it would stick to its referendum despite the merger plans. "Nothing changes," said spokeswoman Jenny Stupka. "The merged housing group would also be affected by the association of all housing companies with more than 3000 apartments in Berlin, as the Deutsche Wohnen & Co. initiative is trying to expropriate," said the initiative.
She is committed to nationalizing real estate owned by companies in Berlin that have more than 3,000 apartments on September 26th for compensation of billions.
She has to collect 175,000 valid signatures by June 25th.
Halfway through the end of April, the initiative was signed by around 130,000 supporters.
SPD politicians have distanced themselves from the proposals, while leftists welcome them.
It was "deeply shocking" how clearly the Senate was serving the interests of the two companies, criticized initiative spokeswoman Stupka.
The agreed rent limit concerns a period that is too short.
The German Tenants' Association also warned of additional burdens in the course of the planned large-scale merger.
Some of the commitments to limit rent increases or the modernization surcharge are sometimes taken for granted that the companies do not demand much, criticized the President of the Tenant Association, Lukas Siebenkotten.
He fears that the tenants will have to bear the costs of the merger without doing anything for them.
mmq / Reuters / dpa
