Goldman Sachs Reaches 28.28% of Voting Rights in Germany’s LEG
Key Facts
Goldman Sachs disclosed that its total position in voting rights at German real estate company LEG reached 28.28%, compared with 4.54% in a previous notification, according to the voting-rights disclosure published on October 27. The notification said the threshold was crossed on October 20. But the figure does not mean the bank directly owns 28.28% of the company’s shares; the disclosure distinguishes between voting rights attached to shares and those attributed to financial instruments. The share-linked portion rose only to 0.55%, while financial instruments account for 27.73% of the reported position. This distinction puts the nature of the disclosure at the center of the story, since total voting rights do not equal an equivalent direct cash stake in the capital.
The move from 4.54% to 28.28% represents a large increase in the reported position, but its composition differs from a direct acquisition of the same percentage of shares. The notification said the share-linked portion amounted to 423,881 LEG shares, compared with the larger percentage recorded through instruments. Instruments listed in the first category accounted for 26.74% of voting rights, while cash-settled or physically settled instruments accounted for 0.99%. This breakdown shows that most of the reported position depends on financial instruments, not shares directly tied to voting rights. The disclosure alone therefore does not establish that Goldman Sachs bought a direct cash stake of this size or built up a comparable position in Germany’s residential real estate sector.
The largest instrument detailed in the notification is a call option based on 11.6 million voting rights, equivalent to 15.09%, with an expiry date of November 19, 2026. That represents more than half of the total percentage attributed to financial instruments, making the expiry date a prominent factor in assessing the current position. The option is part of the financial instruments listed in the notification across two categories, one at 26.74% and the other at 0.99%. The disclosure in the information provided does not specify whether the option will be exercised or extended, or how the position will change when it expires. Another nearby date is LEG’s results announcement on November 12, the company’s next listed event.
The disclosure follows Grand City Properties’ announcement that it owned 20.04% of LEG in October, making it the company’s largest shareholder, according to Reuters coverage, with the deal subject to approval by the antitrust office. The coverage valued the stake at more than 700 million euros, compared with a proportional book value of LEG’s portfolio of about 1.8 billion euros. Grand City Chief Executive Raphael Zimermann described the investment as a “unique opportunity,” and the company said it retained the right to raise its stake to 29.9%, reduce it or exit entirely. After news of the stake, LEG shares rose 4.5% to 47.80 euros in late Frankfurt trading on October 21; during October, the stock had hit its lowest level in more than 12 years. LEG manages 171,360 rental apartments for about 500,000 tenants, with around 80% of its units in North Rhine-Westphalia, according to company data for fiscal year 2025.