Real estate group Deutsche Annington launches public offer for Gagfah

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Germany's biggest real estate firm Deutsche Annington on Friday launched its public offer for third-ranked rival Gagfah in a 3.9 billion euro (£3 billion) cash and shares deal. Gagfah shareholders can tender their shares until January 2015, Deutsche Annington said in a statement, adding the minimum acceptance level lies at 57 percent of all outstanding Gagfah shares. The deal is set to create Europe's second largest real estate company after France's Unibail-Rodamco with some 350,000 flats and a portfolio totalling 21 billion euros, Deutsche Annington had said earlier this month. (Reporting by Arno Schuetze; editing by Harro ten Wolde)