The Board of Irish Residential Properties REIT said a recent press statement from activist shareholder Vision Capital - which is under legal review - is misleading and contains inaccuracies.
Irish Residential Properties REIT, the country's largest private landlord, also said the release depends on unsupported statements attributed to unidentified third parties.
In a statement this morning, the company said it stands by the contents of its circular which was prepared to meet the standard set by the Irish Takeover Panel and published on January 8.
I-RES REIT said it will respond in due course to the Vision Response and ahead of its EGM, which will be held on Friday, February 16 in Dublin.
Earlier this month, I-RES REIT urged its shareholders to reject all resolutions at the upcoming EGM requestioned by activist shareholder Vision Capital and also said it will launch a strategic review of the company.
Last month Canadian-based Vision Capital had demanded an EGM be convened so that shareholders can vote on its proposal to replace five directors of its nine directors and also force the total liquidity of I-RES within two years.
Vision Capital, which owns 5% of I-RES, said it remains dissatisfied with the overall management of the company under the stewardship of the current board and executive management team.
It also noted the company's continued poor share price performance and its "persistent discount relative to the market value of its assets".
In today's statement, the company said the Vision response highlights the risks to shareholders of implementing Vision's "narrowly focused plan to sell the company or its assets".
"As set out in the circular, I-RES has sought to engage constructively with Vision and avoid the unnecessary costs and potential damage which Vision's actions risk for I-RES' shareholders," it added.
It said the board continues to recommend that shareholders vote against the EGM resolutions proposed
by Vision to seek to control the Board of I-RES through the appointment of five Vision nominees
to the nine existing board seats.
"The Strategic Review announced by I-RES earlier this month should be overseen by the existing elected independent and highly-skilled Board who have delivered strong operational performance and will evaluate all value maximisation options in the interests of all shareholders," it added.
Earlier this month, the company said it had appointed Hugh Scott-Barrett to succeed Declan Moylan as Chair of the company's board.
