Buwog
Developer Gateway sells portfolio to pension fund for €242m
German listed commercial and residential property developer Gateway Real Estate sold a portfolio of 21 commercial properties to a Spezialfonds of a German pension provider earlier this month for €242m. The assets are all situated in “good downtown... Read more
Record year for German real estate in 2018, but mood shifting
Last year marked a record year for German real estate, with around €77.3bn invested in real estate, of which €60.1bn was invested in the commercial real estate market, an increase of 6% y-on-y, according to CBRE. Read more
Gateway takes over larger development group, brings in new management
The relatively unknown Gateway Real Estate has taken a significant leap into the upper leagues with its takeover of Düsseldorf-based project developer Development Partner, for an enterprise value of about €500m... Read more
Vonovia gets green light for takeover of Sweden's Victoria Park
Shareholders representing more than 50% of voting rights including call options have accepted Vonovia’s $1.08 billion cash offer for Swedish counterpart Victoria Park, Germany largest real estate company said earlier this month. Read more
Vonovia tops Starwood with Skr9.5b bid for stake in Sweden’s Victoria Park
Germany’s biggest residential landlord, Vonovia, has outbid Starwood Capital to offer around €900m for a stake in Swedish residential group, Victoria Park, thereby cementing the latest step in its strategy to grow the business outside Germany. Read more
BUWOG acquires northern Germany portfolio
German-Austrian BUWOG Group has acquired a residential and commercial real estate portfolio in northern Germany from several unnamed international institutional investors for an undisclosed sum. Read more
Vonovia takes over rival BUWOG in €5.2b deal
Germany's largest residential property company Vonovia is buying Austrian rival BUWOG in a cash deal which values BUWOG at €5.2b. The move will see Vonovia increase its housing stock from 350,000 to 400,000 units, and give it valuable access... Read more
Deutsche Wohnen to issue €800m of convertible bonds; other listed firms also eyeing issues
German listed residential property owner Deutsche Wohnen has announced plans to issue €800m of convertible bonds. Read more
Vonovia turns project developer, pioneers low-cost building
As it gets ever more difficult to find residential portfolios at the right price, the larger players are looking at creating their own new stock of housing, and benefiting from the extra margin accruing to developers in Germany's bubbling housing... Read more
BUWOG hybrid approach enjoying high market acceptance
Listed German-Austrian full-service housing provider BUWOG will next week conclude a cash capital increase by offering a total of up to 12.5 million Buwog shares with a subscription ratio of 1:8. Read more
BUWOG follows recent bond deal with senior debt restructuring
BUWOG Group, the listed German-Austrian full-service residential property investor, recently signed a loan agreement with Berlin Hyp and Helaba for €550m to refinance senior debt with a new loan period of eight years. Read more
Still obstacles in the way of CA Immo/ Immofinanz merger
A year after the last, acrimonious, and ultimately unsuccessful attempt to merge their two companies, the two Austrian listed heavyweights CA Immo and Immofinanz have now agreed in principle to work towards a merger. If all goes according to plan... Read more
Blackstone the buyer of €500m Immofinanz logistics portfolio
We reported in these pages at the end of August that listed Austrian property group Immofinanz AG had announced that it planned to exit the logistics sector to concentrate on its office and retail investments, along with a renewed focus on its key... Read more
Prelios now ‘pure management company’ after investments hived off
There could be few clearer signs of Prelios Deutschland’s renewed commitment to its future as a pure management company than its fresh new 1,600 sqm of environmentally state-of-the-art offices in Hamburg’s business district. Read more
Immofinanz exits logistics, prepares sale of Buwog tranche
Listed Austrian property group Immofinanz announced last month a major shift in its strategy in a bid to refocus its business after a turbulent period which saw its share price savaged, its Russian business battered by economic sanctions and the... Read more
Prelios weighing up hive-off of €300m investment arm
The Italian-listed Prelios said it was looking to hive off the remainder of its investment activities as part of its strategy to reposition itself as a pure asset management group. The company (known in a previous incarnation as Pirelli Real... Read more
Germany’s listed sector sees surge in inflows, mutual funds suffer
2014 was the year to be in German real estate stocks, while the Spezialfonds vehicle also had a superb year seeing hefty capital inflows.However, the open-ended and closed-ended funds sector had a much tougher time of it, a new study by capital... Read more
Austria's Immofinanz completes exit from Swiss, USA markets
Listed Austrian commercial property developer Immofinanz is continuing its steady withdrawal from all non-core markets as part of its stated strategic plan of selling off €500m to €600m annually in assets over a five-year period. The company plans... Read more
German residential deals now mainly in B-cities – Study
A new study by Frankfurt-based residential brokers Dr. Lübke & Kelber shows that German residential investment volume reached €9.7bn in the first nine months of this year, up 14% on last year. Of this, 82% (140,300 units) was transacted in... Read more
Buwog IPO sees Immofinanz subsidiary valued at €1.3bn
This last week saw the long-awaited IPO on the Frankfurt, Vienna and Warsaw Stock Exchanges of Buwog, the residential housing subsidiary of Austrian-listed Immofinanz. The initial placing was at €13.00 in Frankfurt and Vienna, where after initial... Read more