Italian real estate company Sorgente Group has postponed a planned IPO until next year. 

The €4.4bn investor, owner of New York’s Flatiron building, said the decision was due to “current volatility in financial markets”.

Sorgente said the listing remained a strategic objective for 2015, “given the interest shown by the market”, particularly coming from foreign institutional investors.

Chairman and chief executive Valter Mainetti said in a statement: “The project to list Sorgente RES is a priority within our future development plans.

“However, at the moment, we need to accept market conditions are not favourable.

“As the operation is resumed, investors can count on a flexible and liquid instrument to access quality real estate.”

The company had planned to offer shares in a controlled subsidiary, Sorgente Real Estate System (RES).

The listing on Borsa Italiana, the Milan stock exchange, concerned 50% of the shares.

The company submitted documents with Borsa Italiana and Consob, Italy’s securities market regulator, this summer.

Trading was due to begin in November.

Italian media had reported that the offering could be worth between €500m and €600m, although a source close to the matter told IP Real Estate the offering could reach €800m.

Sorgente held roadshows in London, New York and Amsterdam to attract foreign capital.

Mainetti earlier this year told Italian media the intention of the IPO was to offer investors a product that was more liquid than real estate funds regulated under Italian law.

This would allow investors to gain exposure to high-quality trophy assets including redevelopment and development projects.

Banca Imi and Barclays were managing the IPO as joint global coordinator and joint book runner.

Intermonte was acting as sponsor and joint bookrunner with institutional investors.

Sorgente was the first company to launch a dedicated institutional real estate fund for Italian investors.

It owns assets such as Galleria Colonna in Rome and Queensberry House in Mayfair, London.

It also has a significant presence in the US with assets such as the Fine Arts Building in Los Angeles and the Clock Tower Building in Santa Monica.

Topics