More deals are in the pipeline in the German residential sector following the sale of the GBW portfolio earlier this week to a consortium led by Patrizia.
More deals are in the pipeline in the German residential sector following the sale of the GBW portfolio earlier this week to a consortium led by Patrizia.
Blackstone is also believed to be in the process of selling a portfolio of around 5,000 apartments in Berlin, according to those who track the market. Blackstone declined to comment.
In addition, Deutsche Annington, Germany's largest residential landlord is planning an IPO this summer, likely on 4 July. The company owns 186,000 housing units which were valued at €9.9 bn in their company report in 2011. The flotation would be the second this year after LEG Immobilien obtained a listing in Frankfurt in February. The Düsseldorf-based property group raised more than €1.3bn in the second largest German IPO in five years.
The German residential sector has attracted a lot of interest from local players but also foreign investors. Private equity groups such as US-based Cerberus are believed to have placed bids for the GBW portfolio as well as a consortium of German local authorities, including authorities in Munich, Nürnberg, Augsburg and Regensburg. Austrian investor Conwert Immobilien Invest is also believed to have bid.
As reported earlier this week, a consortium led by Patrizia Immobilien bagged the GBW portfolio for €2.4 bn. The sale was a requirement of the European Commission which had given parent company BayernLB until April to spin off the company in return for state handouts during the financial crisis.
