Norway's giant Pension Fund has made its first ever allocation to Germany, acquiring a €784m portfolio of two buildings in a co-investment joint venture with Paris-based investment manager AXA Real Estate. Seller was Britain's Royal Bank of Scotland.
The deal is being done by AXA Real Estate Investment Managers on behalf of AXA France insurance companies, and Norges Bank Investment Management, the arm of the Norwegian central bank which manages the €482bn national pension fund, also known as the Oil Fund and one of the world's the largest sovereign wealth funds. Expected to complete before the year-end, the deal gives each joint venture partner a 50% stake in each building, located in Berlin and Frankfurt and used mainly for office and retail. Payment will be split equally between the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global and AXA France.
The building in Berlin is located on the well-known Kurfürstendamm Boulevard in the city centre, and has 72,400 sq.m. of office and retail space over 16 floors. The Frankfurt asset, located in the central business district, consists of 81,600 sq.m. of predominantly office space.
This transaction follows the announcement in July 2011 of the JV venture between NBIM and AXA Real Estate, acting on behalf of AXA France, to co-invest in a €1.4bn portfolio of seven prime office properties in and around Paris. A subsequent co-investment into a €290m Paris office portfolio was made last November.
Fonte: PIE-Property Investor Europe
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