A consortium of banks led by pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank has extended an investment finance loan of around EUR 700 mln to Aurelis Asset ahead of schedule.
A consortium of banks led by pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank has extended an investment finance loan of around EUR 700 mln to Aurelis Asset ahead of schedule.
The original non-recourse financing of EUR 900 mln was granted to Aurelis in September 2009 for a period of three years. However, as a result of a number of asset sales in the past two years, the real estate arm of German railway operator Deutsche Bahn was able to reduce the credit volume by more than EUR 200 mln.
Joachim Wieland, CEO of Aurelis, commented: ‘The earlier refinancing of our credit until the year 2015 means that we have planning security at an early stage for our company. Especially with the current uncertainty on the financial markets, this is an important step for us which looks to the future.’
Deutsche Pfandbriefbank acted as lead arranger of the financing syndicate and agent for the transaction.
Aurelis is jointly owned by Hochtief Projektentwicklung and Redwood Grove International which each acquired a 50% stake in the company from Deutsche Bahn in December 2007.
Aurelis’ portfolio currently consists of around 950 properties and plots of land with a total area of some 18 million m² in Germany, mostly in metropolitan regions. The portfolio includes both rental properties and development sites.
