Sweden's Castellum to make takeover offer for Entra after raising stake

(Reuters) - Castellum has increased its shareholding in Entra to more than a third of all its shares and will make a mandatory offer for the Norwegian real estate firm, it said on Thursday.

The Swedish real estate group bought further 100 shares in Entra for 110.40 Norwegian crowns per share, crossing the threshold for a mandatory offer for the remaining shares, it said in a statement.

Castellum said that Entra's largest shareholder Fastighets AB Balder, which controls nearly 40% of the Norwegian firm's shares and votes, has said it will not accept Castellum's offer.

Balder said in a separate statement that it did not intend to make a counteroffer.

Carlsquare analyst Bertil Nilsson said the market reaction was likely to be limited as Balder would retain its stake in Entra despite Castellum's offer.

"However, there is likely to be speculation in Entra's shares about a long-term takeover of the company by either Castellum or Balder," Nilsson added.

(Reporting by Elviira Luoma and Anna Chaberska in Gdansk, editing by Milla Nissi)