Israeli group Optibase buys €29m German supermarket portfolio

A new arrival onto the German market is the Israeli group Optibase, an unlikely-sounding real estate company that was previously engaged in the field of digital technologies until selling out its core business five years ago. Since then it has been investing in fixed-income real estate, primarily in Switzerland and the USA.

The NASDAQ and Tel Aviv-listed company is now dipping its toe into the German market, and its wholly-owned German subsidiary Optibase Bavaria GmbH has just closed on the purchases of 25 supermarkets in Bavaria from an unnamed seller for €24m. The deal was first flagged in December of last year.

Optibase said it financed the deal partly with a loan from German bank DG Hyp of €15.25m for a five-year term. The company has contracted to buy a further two supermarkets to complete the portfolio for a further €5.75m, also to be partly financed by DG Hyp.

According to Optibase’s CEO Amir Philips, “The acquisition is well spread across various locations in Bavaria which is considered to be the strongest economical region in Germany. We will continue looking for additional opportunities in this market.”