German property lenders Aareal and Berlin Hyp have reportedly joined a bidding battle for peer Westimmo in a deal potentially worth more than €300 mln, according to news agency Reuters.

German property lenders Aareal and Berlin Hyp have reportedly joined a bidding battle for peer Westimmo in a deal potentially worth more than €300 mln, according to news agency Reuters.

German bad bank Erste Abwicklungsanstalt (EAA) confirmed in May that it had launched a new sales process for property lender Westimmo in an operation run by JP Morgan.

Private equity investors such as Blackstone, KKR and Apollo have also expressed their interest in the mortgage bank.

Bidders are now required to submit an offer by an August deadline.

WestImmo, with a real estate loan portfolio of around €7 bn, posted an after-tax profit of €50 mln in 2013.

WestImmo was transferred to bad bank EAA in June 2012 after stricken parent group WestLB failed to reach a sales agreement with private equity group Apollo.

WestLB was required to sell the property arm in return for bailout funds of €3 bn received in 2008.