DG Hyp provides €264m financing on Asian JV deal in Cologne

Although the deal was closed at the end of December, details only emerged recently about a significant transaction which saw both a South Korean and a Chinese investor come together to buy Cologne's Lanxess Arena along with the city's technical centre City Haus, in a club deal arranged by advisor Arminius. The sale price was €440m, with the seller being a consortium of 77 owners of an Oppenheim-Esch fund.

The equity investors in the deal were South Korea's Mirae Asset Global Investment and the Chinese group Junson Capital from Hong Kong, with both investing in Germany for the first time.

Seoul-based Mirae is an independent asset manager with a focus on emerging markets equities with $75bn in assets under management around the globe, 5% of which are in real estate. It is part of the Mirae Asset Financial Group, South Korea's largest investment group. Family-owned Junson Capital has been active as an investor in hotels and arenas in Asia and the US.

Jersey-based Arminius Advisors and Frankfurt's Arminius Kapitalgesellschaft said in a joint release that the deal marks their entry into a new business line with stabilised and core assets, for which they are evaluating further investments. Arminius was advised by Drees & Sommer and law firm Kucera, while DG Hyp is providing €264m in financing for the deal as sole lender.

The 20,000-capacity Lanxess Stadium, which adjoins the City Haus, is a multi-purpose indoor arena built in 1998 at a cost of €153m. It is the largest ice-hockey arena outside North America, housing the local Kölner Haie ("Cologne Sharks") team. Last year 1,506,190 visitors attended 146 events in the arena, including 733,433 music and pop concert fans. The stadium attracts visitors estimated at 450,000 hotel nights in Cologne, spending about €600m locally, putting it among the top 10 multi-purpose arenas worldwide.