The Vonovia housing group is shipwrecked for the second time when it tries to take over its competitor Deutsche Wohnen.
The lack of acceptance by shareholders is a disaster for all proponents, but especially for Vonovia boss Rolf Buch, who forged a profitable Dax group and market leader in Bochum.
That he is now blaming gambling funds and passive investors sounds cheap.
Didn't his mandated investment bankers check these known predetermined breaking points in advance?
Rather, the bosses of Vonovia and Deutsche Wohnen as well as the city of Berlin lost their way when they announced the planned merger in May with great self-assurance.
They did the math without the shareholders.
Buch recently reacted sensitively to the tense situation on the rental market in Berlin and elsewhere.
If he wants to continue to finance his concessions through cost savings, he will need more size and will hardly be able to avoid a third attempt at the takeover.
But this should then fit.