GERMANY - A consortium comprising of RREEF Alternative Investments, the Borletti Group, the Generali Group, and Pirelli RE today announced it has completed the acquisition of a 49% stake in "Highstreet", the investment company owning the majority of Karstadt's German department store premises.
The RREEF-dominated group announced in March it had signed a binding agreement with Karstadt Quelle AG - also known as the Arcandor Group- for a 49% stake in Canadian fund manager Highstreet RBG, but was still subject to approval of the antitrust and regulatory authorities at that time as well as needing the content of existing lenders to facilitate the change of control of the borrowers.
At that time officials revealed the €4.56bn deal would give RREEF 40% of the shares covered in the agreement while the partners will own 20% each. (See earlier IPE Real Estate story: RREEF enters German retail market)
Highstreet's portfolio comprises 164 properties located across Germany with a total gross area of 3.2m metres, broken down as 81 department stores, 9 sporting goods stores, 28 parking lots, 14 office buildings and 32 with other activities for mixed use, retail points of sales, logistics, and land.
A signed agreement means Whitehall, a property fund of Goldman Sachs, will holds a 51% stake in Highstreet but the assets in the portfolio will be joint managed but Whitehall and Pirelli RE.
