Swiss Life has bought Corpus Sireo, meaning that large property portfolios managed on behalf of investors like Deutsche Bank and Deutsche Telekom will now fall under the insurance group’s business.
Corpus Sireo, which owns and manages €16bn in real estate, was sold by three German savings banks, or Sparkassen, for €210m.
The deal means Swiss Life is now a considerable player in the German real estate market, having only had real estate businesses in Switzerland and France.
According to the Swiss group, the existing cooperation with the German savings banks will continue; current portfolios will remain intact and Corpus Sireo will continue to manage properties for them.
Additionally, Corpus Sireo will strengthen its involvement in real estate projects as a co-investor.
The German savings banks sold the real estate manager because they wanted to focus on their regional businesses and Corpus Sireo had started to become an international player.
Swiss Life acquired several lines of business including asset and investment management, project development and real estate marketing.
Parts of Corpus Sireo’s portfolio, comprising mainly residential properties, had already been sold to Deutsche Asset & Wealth Management (DeAWM) prior to the deal at the end of June for an undisclosed sum.
