Denmark’s Fokus Asset Management is buying Danish debt asset manager and adviser Heimdal Nordic.

Fokus said the move would allow it to create returns for its partners from real estate through either acquisitions or financing.

Fokus said while its own business concentrated on optimising returns for investors owning and operating property, Heimdal Nordic was aimed at doing the same for those seeking exposure to real estate through debt, which Fokus saw as complementary to its own current activities.

Tonny Nielsen, chief executive officer of Fokus Asset Management, said: “The acquisition of Heimdal Nordic is a further step in realising our strategic goal of covering the entire Nordics within investment, asset management and debt asset management.”

Nielsen told IPE Real Assets the acquisition price was confidential.

However, the firm said Heimdal Nordic had around DKK4.3bn (€578m) in assets under management, which it said brought the firms’ combined total to DKK37bn. These figures suggest the deal is expanding the purchaser’s business by more than 12%.

Fokus said the acquisition meant it would be well-positioned in structuring, managing, and procuring debt for real estate, adding that the purchase followed its acquisition of Swedish asset manager Scius Partners in March, which Nielsen described as the perfect launch for the firm’s Nordic expansion.

“Heimdal Nordic has been a frontrunner in its line of business in Denmark and will now extend the activities to the other Nordic countries as part of the Fokus Group,” the group said.

Peter Lilja, CEO at Heimdal Nordic, said: ”Being part of the Fokus Group will bring Heimdal Nordic to the next level and spread the business further into the Nordics.”

Fokus said its strategy was to become the leading full-service real estate investment and asset manager in the Nordics, expecting further expansion this year to offer investors full access to all property-related investments in the Nordics.

Kromann Reumert and Deloitte advised Fokus Asset Management on the deal, while Heimdal Nordic was advised by Accura, InfoRevision and BDO.

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