Italian real estate company Sorgente Group has filed a request for one of its subsidiaries to join trading on Borsa Italiana, the Milan stock exchange.
The €4.4bn investor, owner of New York’s Flatiron building, plans to offer shares in a controlled subsidiary, Sorgente Real Estate System (RES). The listing concerns 50% of the shares in the company.
The company has submitted documents with Borsa Italiana and Consob, Italy’s securities market regulator, and trading should begin in November.
Italian media reported that the offering could be worth between €500m and €600m, although a source close to the matter told IP Real Estate that the offering could reach €800m.
Sorgente has held roadshows in London, New York and Amsterdam to attract foreign capital.
Chairman and CEO Valter Mainetti told Italian media that the intention of the IPO is to offer investors a product that is 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 are managing the IPO as joint global coordinator and joint book runner. Intermonte will act 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 USA with assets such as the Fine Arts Building in Los Angeles and the Clock Tower Building in Santa Monica.
